Prolonged survival of fowl spermatozoa stored in a diffusion chamber in vitro

Abstract

1. A diffusion chamber technique was used in an attempt to prolong the life‐span of fowl spermatozoa at 41 °C in vitro.

2. The most suitable conditions in the diffusion chamber system for this purpose were found to be pH 7.2, with the addition of foetal calf serum (400 mg/ml), a sperm concentration of 10 × 10⁹/ml and a gas mixture of 5% CO₂ + 5% O₂ + 90% N₂.

3. The spermatozoa stored in the diffusion chamber under these conditions were highly fertile for at least 2 d, whereas those stored in a test tube had a low fertilising ability.

Notes

Present address: Laboratory of Animal Reproduction, Faculty of Agriculture, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki 880, Japan.