Influence of Egg Yolk on the Quality of Cryopreserved Spermatozoa of Common Carp,Cyprinus carpio

Cryopreservation of fish gametes can help in producing quality fish seeds. Success of cryopreservation is evaluated by the post-thaw motility of the spermatozoa. The changes in the seminal plasma during cryopreservation would alter the energy supply for the motility of the spermatozoa, and thus energy supplementation is found to be useful during cryopreservation. Cyprinus carpio spermatozoa were cryopreserved along with egg yolk as a co-cryoprotectant after 1:100 dilution with 0.85% physiological saline as extender and DMSO as cryoprotectant (85:15). The diluents contained egg yolk at three different concentrations, viz., T1 (5%), T2 (10%), and T3 (15%). The diluted milt was equilibrated for 10 min at 5°C and loaded into 0.25 ml straws. The loaded straws were then frozen with LN2 vapor for 5 min and immersed in liquid nitrogen. Observations were made once in 7 days for 42 days on motility parameters based on which the duration, score, pattern, and percentage were determined. There were significant differences in the motility duration between treatments, and egg yolk at 5% (T1) concentration was found to support the cryopreserved spermatozoa better than the other concentrations; the difference in motility duration was statistically significant (P > 0.005).