Avaliação da adição de cisteína no sêmen resfriado para inseminação em suíno

Abstract

The improvement of pig industry is a consequence of the technological advances. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of cysteine in BTS (Beltsville Thawing Solution) and centrifugation on swine semen to increase the sperm quality and fertility. In the first experiment, different concentrations of cysteine in Beltsville Thawing Solution: BTS (control group); CYS0.1 (BTS added 0.1 mM cysteine); CYS0.5 (BTS added 0.5 mM cysteine); CYS1.0 (BTS added 1.0 mM cysteine); CYS2.5 (BTS added 2.5 mM cysteine); CYS5.0 (BTS added 5.0 mM cysteine); CYS10.0 (BTS added 10.0 mM cysteine) and CYS20.0 (BTS added 20.0 mM cysteine) were evaluated. In the second experiment, semen added to BTS were not centrifuged without (control group) or with 5.0 mM of cysteine (BTSCYS/NC). In other treatment groups, semen were centrifuged with (BTSCYS/CENT) or without (BTS/CENT) 5.0 mM cysteine. Semen were stored at 17 °C for 72 h. To assess the effect of cysteine and centrifugation on fertility, 136 females were randomly allotted in the following groups for artificial insemination with semen diluted in BTS and a) without centrifugation and cysteine (BTS/NC); b) without centrifugation and with 5.0 mM cysteine (BTSCYS/NC) or c) with centrifugation and with 5.0 mM cysteine (BTSCYS/CENT). After artificial insemination, the return to estrus rate and litter size were evaluated. In the first experiment, the quality of semen was determined by tests of sperm motility, vigor, morphology and viability (plasma and acrossomal membrane integrity and mitochondrial potential). In the second experiment, the semen were evaluated by the tests above, DNA compactation and function of plasma membrane. The treatments were evaluated at 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after dilution. In both experiments, the effect of treatments on the storage period was determined by analysis for repeated data (PROC MIXED) and the effect of treatments on the return to estrus rate and the number of piglets were analyzed by using PROC GLM of SAS software and applied the Tukey test for significant models. The percentage of morphological changes did not exceed 20% during storage for 72 h and do not differ between treatments in both experiments. However, the motility in the first experiment, vigor, integrity of plasma membrane and acrossomal well as the potential of mitochondria reduced the period of storage. The motility, vigor and viability decreased to levels below 10% in treatments CYS10.0, CYS20.0 in the first 24 hours of storage at 17 ºC. At the end of the storage period all groups had average below 65% of sperm with intact plasma membrane while the second experiment, treatment BTSCYS/CENT showed lower motility and force the other treatments, and the sperm motility below 60% from 24 hours of storage. The integrity of plasma membranes and acrossomal and the potential of mitochondria was less than 60% in treatments BTSCYS and BTSCYS/CENT. However in the field to the group BTSCYS showed lower average (8.83 ± 3.38) for infants and more return rate (86.05 ± 0.39) when compared to other groups. Therefore, the cysteine at low concentrations as well as maintains the control group the sperm quality. But despite treatment BTSCYS/NC have reached the same rates as the control group for sperm quality, was the treatment that received higher rates of return and lower number of piglets born.