Melanie Digmayer

Embriões de pacu submetidos a diferentes protocolos de resfriamento

The objective of this work was to evaluate the percentage of hatching after cooling of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) embryos at -8oC for six hours, treated with cryoprotectant solutions, to obtain a cooling protocol for the specie. There were 2.400 embryos in post-gastrula stage development, in seven cryoprotectants solutions and control with three replicates, in completely randomized design. Ethylene glycol and honey-jelly were inappropriate. The substitution of 50% sucrose did not produce positive results. The combination of methanol (9%) and sucrose (17.5%) performed 69.2% of hatching and is recommended for cooling of pacu embryos at -8 oC for six hours.

Spermatic abnormalities of piracanjuba Brycon orbignyanus (Valenciennes, 1849) after cryopreservation

The objective of this research was to verify the presence of spermatic abnormalities on semen of Brycon orbignyanus after cryopreservation. Semen was collected from ten four-year-old males who presented secondary reproductive characteristics for migrating fish. Sperm was evaluated for motility, vigor and spermatic morphology before and after cryopreservation. A cryoprotectant solution was made of 20 mL of yolk egg, 5.0 g of glucose and dimethyl sulfoxide diluted in distilled water (10 mL: 90 mL). The diluted semen (1:3, semen:solution) was submitted to nitrogen steam for 24 hours and then to liquid nitrogen (-196 ºC) for 60 days. Cryopreservation decreased the percentage of normal spermatozoa from 62.20% to 54.60%. Consequently, the percentage of spermatozoa with secondary abnormalities increased from 8.50% to 15.00%. However, there was no difference in primary abnormalities. Both spermatic motility and vigor were decreased in cryopreserved semen compared with fresh semen. In conclusion, cryopreservation of semen of B. orbignyanus increased the percentage of secondary abnormalities and decreased the spermatic motility and vigor.

Cryopreservation of Embryos and Oocytes of South American Fish Species

The importance of animal genetic resources for wildlife maintenance as well as farming production has become more and more evident in recent years. Fish stocks are globally threatened mainly due to overfishing and environmental pollution. Cryopreservation of aquatic germplasm brings the possibility of preserving the genome of endangered species, increasing the representation of genetically valuable animals for farming purposes and avoiding genetic losses through diseases and catastrophes.

Quality of fresh and cryopreserved semen and their influence on the rates of fertilization, hatching and quality of the larvae of Piaractus mesopotamicus

In this work, the seminal parameters of P. mesopotamicus were evaluated fresh and after cryopreservation, focusing on the sperm variables that affect the rates of fertilization, hatching and post-hatching parameters such as larval survival and morphology. The semen and oocytes from the animals were collected after extrusion, and seminal quality and oocyte fertilization were analyzed. Subsequently, a portion of each semen sample was cryopreserved and, after two days, the oocytes from three new females were fertilized with cryopreserved semen from the males. The analyzes showed that progressive motility, spermatic vigor, motility duration, number of normal sperm and secondary abnormalities were higher in fresh semen than in semen after thawing (P <0.0001). Similarly, fertilization and hatching rates and the percentage of normal and abnormal larvae in fertilized oocytes were higher when fresh semen was used (P <0.0001). The cryopreservation process affected the qualitative parameters of the semen of Piaractus mesopotamicus. The primary abnormality of spermatozoa was the main variable that influenced both fertilization and hatching rates, both in fresh and thawed semen. The second most important variable that influenced, particularly, thawed semen, was the spermatic vigor.