Prolonged incubation of frozen–thawed equine spermatozoa for in vitro fertilization: A preliminary study using low temperature and INRA96 medium

Abstract

A protocol for conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) in horses using fresh semen has been described, using a prolonged incubation in FERT-TALP medium (22 h) at 38.2°C in the presence of penicillamine, hypotaurine and epinephrine (PHE). Our work aimed to develop a protocol that maintains quality parameters in frozen–thawed equine spermatozoa incubated for 22 h in the presence of PHE using different media (FERT-TALP and INRA96) and incubation temperatures (30 and 38.2°C). Twelve frozen ejaculates from four stallions were thawed and then incubated in either FERT-TALP or INRA96 with PHE at 30 or 38.2°C for 22 h. Following incubation, total motility (TM), progressive motility (PM), viability and acrosome integrity were evaluated. The results showed that TM was significantly higher (p