Effect of glycerol on the penetrating ability of fresh ram spermatozoa with zona-free hamster eggs

Abstract

The presence of 10% glycerol in diluted semen for 30-90 min before preincubation stimulated sperm penetration of zona-free eggs. Prolongation of semen storage in medium with glycerol did not further improve penetration ability. The penetrating activity of spermatozoa depended on the concentration of glycerol and incubation time. These results indicate that the presence of glycerol accelerates induction of the acrosome reaction which could be one of the causes of lower conception rate after insemination with deep-frozen ram semen.