ISSN 2167-0447
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN 2167-0447 Vol. 10 (4), pp. 001-005, April, 2020. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
A case study on cryopreservation of African sheep semen for the Red Maasai, Dorper breeds and their crosses
Hideaki Yamashiro1,3, John R Wando2, Edward Okoth2, Satoshi Sugimura1, Stefan Moisyadi3, Eimei Sato1, Edward O. Rege2 and Mwai Okeyo2*
1Laboratory of Animal Reproduction, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Tsutsumidori-amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 981-8555, Japan.
2International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) P. O. Box 30709, Nairobi 00100, Kenya.
3Department of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology, Institute for Biogenesis Research, John A Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1960 East West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Accepted 18 January, 2020
Abstract
The objective of this study was to examine the effect of different concentrations of trehalose and raffinose in Tris-citric acid-glucose (TCG) egg yolk extender for the sperm freezability of Red Maasai sheep, another African breed- the Dorper and their crosses. The results showed that Red Maasai, Dorper and their crosses sperm could be cryopreserved by extending with 0.075 to 0.01 M trehalose or raffinose-TCG egg yolk extender. We conclude that the cryopreservation of currently under threat Red Maasai sheep due to uncontrolled exotic breeds sperm makes it possible to establish a gene bank for the storage of animal genetic resources for endangered species, under the management of the International Livestock Research Institute for future genetic options in an uncertain world.
Key words: Red Maasai sheep sperm, freezability, raffinose, trehalose.