Technology in Goat Semen Preservation

Goat production has importance in agriculture economy worldwide. Breeding programs have been developed for the genetic improvement of goats. One of these programs is the development of artificial insemination to develop high quality genetic of sires. Three methods of semen preservation (fresh, refrigerated and frozen) and three techniques of insemination (vaginal, cervical and intrauterine) are used worldwide in goats. The success of artificial insemination will depend on the management of semen collection, storage and use.

Artificial Insemination (AI) may be regarded as a first generation Advanced Assisted Reproduction Technologies (ART) and it is the one that has made the greatest contribution to genetic improvement programs, mainly due to well-established methods for identifying males with the highest genetic merit.

One of the technologies developed in optimizing the viability of animals semen was through refrigeration. Refrigeration allows the storage of semen for a long period of time. The use of fresh or refrigerated semen was recommended when semen was stored for short periods of time or when it is used in small areas. Also, the use of liquid semen stored between 0-5ºC allows the effective viability of semen for a longer period of time compared to fresh semen.

          Aside from chilling the buck semen another way of preserving it was through cryopreservation. Cryopreservation is a way of preserving germplasm that has applications in many areas of science. The cryopreservation of mammalian sperm is a complex process that is influenced by several factors that are inter-related. Therefore, for the development of a protocol for sperm freezing, all the factors should be considered. Furthermore, there are important differences between species with regard to the freezing procedure. These differences result from some factors such as the physiology and biochemistry of the spermatozoa themselves.

Thus, a protocol optimized for freezing of sperm of one species may not be appropriate for the sperm of a different species. For these reasons, the specific requirements of each particular species should be taken into account when trying to develop freezing protocols which are some of the challenges today in order to preserve the semen of different animals specifically those animals categorized as extinct. If specific protocol will be developed for the different animal species it can be stored in gene bank that can be useful for future purposes and maintaining the genetic diversity of the animals.