dc.description.abstract | The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of single layer centrifugation (SLC) on boar sperm samples. At the same time scaling up the SLC technique was tested with two volumes: 4.5 ml and 15 ml. In total, 32 ejaculates from 8 boars were used in this project. The boars were of different breeds: Swedish Landrace (n=1), Norwegian Landrace (n=2), Swedish Yorkshire (n=1) and Hampshire (n=4). Three treatments were used: control (untreated), SLC with 4.5 ml extended semen, and SLC with 15 ml extended semen. The evaluation of the samples was based on motility, linear motility, progressive motility, number of sperm, yield, viability and ROS production. With the SLC treatment it was possible to select spermatozoa with a more linear motility and higher progressive motility, and also spermatozoa with normal morphology. No difference in viability between the different treatments was detected. In contrast, ROS production was slightly increased in the SLC-selected samples. There was no significant difference in results between the 4.5 ml SLC volume and the 15 ml SLC volume, indicating that the technique can be scaled up to 15 ml without compromising sperm quality. For the future the technique must be scaled up more to be useful in practice. | |