Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility?
Subfertile boars often go undetected until they cause significant reproductive losses. Current semen quality assessments are limited in their ability to predict fertility, highlighting the need for complementary biomarkers. This study explored whether semen freezability could serve as an indirect in...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2180 |
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| author | Eduardo de Mercado Helena Nieto-Cristóbal Adrián Martín-San Juan María José Martinez-Alborcia Manuel Álvarez-Rodríguez |
| author_facet | Eduardo de Mercado Helena Nieto-Cristóbal Adrián Martín-San Juan María José Martinez-Alborcia Manuel Álvarez-Rodríguez |
| author_sort | Eduardo de Mercado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Subfertile boars often go undetected until they cause significant reproductive losses. Current semen quality assessments are limited in their ability to predict fertility, highlighting the need for complementary biomarkers. This study explored whether semen freezability could serve as an indirect indicator of boar fertility. Eighteen boars were classified based on historical fertility records and semen freezability, assessed by post-thaw quality. Fresh and post-thaw semen samples were analyzed using the CASA system and fluorescence microscopy. High-fertility boars showed significantly better motility and functional sperm parameters in fresh semen compared to low-fertility boars. However, these differences were mostly lost after cryopreservation. Conversely, boars with good freezability had consistently better post-thaw semen quality, though this did not correlate directly with higher fertility outcomes. Notably, a combined analysis revealed that boars with both high fertility and poor freezability had the lowest post-thaw semen quality. This suggests that cryopreservation may expose hidden sperm defects not detectable in fresh semen. Total motility was the only parameter associated with both fertility and freezability. In conclusion, while freezability alone may not directly predict fertility, it may help identify low-performing males. The combined assessment of fresh semen motility and freezability could support more effective boar selection strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7935cade9ab54f03baa65dd76ed9d8d2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-7935cade9ab54f03baa65dd76ed9d8d22025-08-20T03:35:57ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-07-011515218010.3390/ani15152180Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility?Eduardo de Mercado0Helena Nieto-Cristóbal1Adrián Martín-San Juan2María José Martinez-Alborcia3Manuel Álvarez-Rodríguez4Department of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Alimentaria-CSIC, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Alimentaria-CSIC, 28040 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Alimentaria-CSIC, 28040 Madrid, SpainTopigs Norsvin España SLU-AIM Ibérica, 28290 Las Rozas, SpainDepartment of Animal Reproduction, Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agraria y Alimentaria-CSIC, 28040 Madrid, SpainSubfertile boars often go undetected until they cause significant reproductive losses. Current semen quality assessments are limited in their ability to predict fertility, highlighting the need for complementary biomarkers. This study explored whether semen freezability could serve as an indirect indicator of boar fertility. Eighteen boars were classified based on historical fertility records and semen freezability, assessed by post-thaw quality. Fresh and post-thaw semen samples were analyzed using the CASA system and fluorescence microscopy. High-fertility boars showed significantly better motility and functional sperm parameters in fresh semen compared to low-fertility boars. However, these differences were mostly lost after cryopreservation. Conversely, boars with good freezability had consistently better post-thaw semen quality, though this did not correlate directly with higher fertility outcomes. Notably, a combined analysis revealed that boars with both high fertility and poor freezability had the lowest post-thaw semen quality. This suggests that cryopreservation may expose hidden sperm defects not detectable in fresh semen. Total motility was the only parameter associated with both fertility and freezability. In conclusion, while freezability alone may not directly predict fertility, it may help identify low-performing males. The combined assessment of fresh semen motility and freezability could support more effective boar selection strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2180boar spermsperm qualityfertilityfreezability |
| spellingShingle | Eduardo de Mercado Helena Nieto-Cristóbal Adrián Martín-San Juan María José Martinez-Alborcia Manuel Álvarez-Rodríguez Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? Animals boar sperm sperm quality fertility freezability |
| title | Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? |
| title_full | Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? |
| title_fullStr | Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? |
| title_short | Could Individual Variability in Resistance to Cryopreservation (“Freezability”) Serve as a Biomarker Reflecting Boar Fertility? |
| title_sort | could individual variability in resistance to cryopreservation freezability serve as a biomarker reflecting boar fertility |
| topic | boar sperm sperm quality fertility freezability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2180 |
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