Effects of coconut water-based extender on the characteristics of cryopreserved semen of southern wild deer (Mazama rufa)

• Grant number: 24/01044-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: José Maurício Barbanti Duarte
• Grantee: Gabriela Mafissioni Scheffer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The southern wood deer (Mazama rufa) was recently revalidated as part of the cryptic species complex of the genus Mazama, being a species that is experiencing population decline in its natural habitat. One of the strategies for conserving the species is the use of reproductive biotechnologies, such as semen cryopreservation. In cervids, semen cryopreservation is predominantly carried out using the Tris-Gema extender, however, the growing search for plant-based extenders has stimulated studies with coconut water as the main component of extenders. Therefore, the objective of the work is to evaluate the effects of Tris-Gema and coconut water extenders on the characteristics of cryopreserved Mazama rufa semen. For this, semen from four animals (n = 4) will be collected and sperm concentration, motility, vigor, plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and cell morphology will be evaluated before freezing and after thawing, so that it is possible to establish a comparison between the effects of the two extenders on M. rufa semen.