Semen cryopreservation in domestic birds has b
een studied extensively in the past fifty
years. However, efficient methods to freeze semen of
chicken of different breeds have emerged only in
the last decade of the 20
th
century. Methods using cryoprotectants Glycerol, Dimethyl Acetamide and
Dimethyl sulfoxide, slow or rapid freezing-thaw
ing procedures, pellets or ampoules or straws
packaging have been developed. Other methods ha
ve been studied in turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks,
geese and some wild species. They are often less
successful than chicken freezing methods with wide
intra-species variability.
Reliable predictors of suitability of semen for cr
yopreservation are also needed to improve freezing
methods and to optimize the management of fro
zen semen. The quality of whole fresh semen
measured by classical morphologic, metabolic and mob
ility tests is an indicator. More specialized tests
such as membrane fluidity of fresh spermatozoa
are indicative of the freezability of the gametes.
The main use of semen cryopreservation in birds is the
ex situ
management of genetic resources in the
context of decreasing in avian genetic biodiversity.
This is achieved through germplasm cryobanks.
There are three main national avian germplasm
cryobank programs in 2006, operating in North
America, The Netherlands and France respectively.
They mainly include semen and blood samples
issued from Public Research Lines, indigenous breeds and individual specific genotypes.
The future need for semen cryo
preservation programs will focus mainly on three objectives 1)
improvement of predictors of suitability of males
for semen freezing, 2) emergence of standardized
methods of semen freezing in species other than
chicken and 3) increasing development of avian