This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The efficiency of controlled propagation to produce rhesus monkeys of particular genotypes can be maximized by use of cryopreserved spermatozoa collected from specific males to inseminate appropriate females. But this assumes that semen from males with different genotypes can be cryopreserved with equal effectiveness. To investigate whether spermatozoa from different Macaca mulatta males can be effectively cryopreserved when frozen under identical conditions, we collected and froze semen specimens from 13 adult, fertile males maintained at three primate research centers. Survival, based on post-thaw motility normalized to the pre freeze value, was assayed within 30 minutes after thawing; it varied from 50 to 70% but declined thereafter. To examine the response of semen from individual males, we collected and froze three to six ejaculates/male from each of seven males. In general, semen from a given male responded reproducibly to freezing, but there were significant differences among males. The cause of these differences among M. mulatta males in post-thaw sperm survival remains unidentified.
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