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The Sperm Mitochondrion: Organelle of Many Functions

January 10, 2021

The sperm mitochondrion (pictured left) is one of the most damaged organelles during cryopreservation and is likely responsible for the majority of loss in motility and fertility after a freeze-thaw cycle. Our laboratory at UC Davis has focused on developing an increased understanding of mitochondrial bioenergetics in sperm that could provide strong rationale for marked improvement in preservation and assisted reproduction techniques.

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Harvesting and Freezing Equine Epididymal Sperm

January 13, 2014

The sudden death of a stallion is a devastating event, not just emotionally, but potentially financially as well. In addition to any competitive goals the stallion was working towards, his untimely death may mean the loss of future breedings, particularly if a stock of frozen semen was not banked up whilst he was alive. In this situation it may be possible to harvest and freeze epididymal sperm by castrating the stallion immediately after death or euthanasia. Alternatively, collection and freezing of epididymal sperm may be an elective procedure performed at the time of castration. This offers an advantage to young stallions, i.e. some semen can be frozen without taking time out from a busy training schedule, or without exposing a young stallion to the breeding environment. For the mature stallion it represents an additional opportunity to collect semen for freezing. Here we review the process of epididymal sperm harvesting for freezing, and its subsequent application for breeding purposes.

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