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Sperm quality and cryopreservation of Brazilian freshwater fish species: a review

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Abstract

The Brazilian freshwater fish diversity is the richest in the world. Only 0.7% of all Brazilian species have had any aspect of their sperm biology addressed up to this date. The majority of the fish species described in this review migrate during the spawning season (a phenomenon known as piracema). Urbanization, pollution, hydroelectric dams and deforestation are some of the causes of stock depletion or even local extinction of some of these species. The knowledge concerning sperm quality and minimum sperm:egg ratio is important to maximize the use of males without reducing hatching rates. Furthermore, sperm cryopreservation and gene banking can guarantee the conservation of genetic diversity and development of adequate breeding programs of native fish species. In this review, we present and evaluate the existing information on Brazilian fish species that have been subject to sperm quality and cryopreservation studies. The following parameters were evaluated: volume of extractable sperm, sperm motility, sperm concentration, freezing media, freezing methods, and post-thaw sperm quality. Although the existing protocols yield relatively high post-thaw motility and fertilization rates, the use of cryopreserved sperm in routine hatchery production is still limited in Brazil.

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Acknowledgments

A special thank you is due to the Canadian International Development Agency for funding the cooperative work developed by the World Fisheries Trust, Victoria, BC, with several Brazilian institutions in fish conservation. We also wish to thank the Brazilian agencies FAPEMIG and CNPq for funding most of our studies, and to the Fish Culture and Hydrobiology Stations of CEMIG (Itutinga and Volta Grande), FURNAS (Furnas) and CODEVASF (Três Marias) where most of our data were collected.

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  1. H. P. Godinho

    Present address: , João A. Cardoso St., 192, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31310-390, Brazil

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  1. Department of Animal Sciences, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, MG, 37200-000, Brazil

    A. T. M. Viveiros

  2. Department of Morphology, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, 31270-901, Brazil

    H. P. Godinho

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Viveiros, A.T.M., Godinho, H.P. Sperm quality and cryopreservation of Brazilian freshwater fish species: a review. Fish Physiol Biochem 35, 137–150 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-008-9240-3

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