Sperm fertility of the subtropical freshwater streaked prochilod Prochilodus lineatus (Characiformes) improved after dilution and cold storage

Abstract

The aims of this study were to evaluate the efficiency of simple and complex extenders in prolonging the cold storage of sperm (Experiments 1 and 2) and to test the diluted-cooled sperm in the best extender with regard to sperm quality parameters (Experiment 3) in the streaked prochilod, Prochilodus lineatus. In all the experiments, aliquots of 0.3 mL of sperm were diluted 1:10 in extenders and stored at 4–6 °C. Sperm diluted in simple extenders (NaCl and glucose solutions) yielded 0–26% sperm motility, whereas sperm diluted in complex extenders (BTS™, M III™ and Androstar™) yielded 62–81% sperm motility on day 4 after cold storage. When Androstar™ was further investigated, the following was observed on day 4: 53% motility with 94 s of duration; 47% live spermatozoa; 26–61% fertility rate; and 22–60% hatching rate. The use of Androstar™ improves the sperm fertility of the streaked prochilod during a 4-day storage period and can therefore be used to facilitate artificial reproduction.