An easy, safe, and practical method for semen collection in dromedary camels

Abstract

In the current study, we have developed an easy, practical, and reliable method to collect semen from camel bulls. Simply, intromission of
a super-sensitive artificial insemination glove intravaginally with an outer fixation in the perineal region from lateral and dorsal sides of the
vulva, mating, glove withdrawal and semen collection were the successive steps. Bull behaviour before and during the mating process was
observed. The collected semen was evaluated in aspects of semen colour, volume and sperm cell concentration. Also, individual sperm
motility and semen fertility by applying in-vitro fertilization were investigated after semen dilution in a new developed extender for camel
semen (100 mmol/l Tris, 65 mmol/l lactose, 50 mmol/l glucose, 40 mmol/l galactose, 125 mg/100ml BSA, 50 IU/ml catalase enzyme,
1000 IU/ml penicillin G and 500µg/ml streptomycin: pH 7.0). Presence of the intravaginal glove and its fixation by the external adhesive
tape did not affect the bull willingness and did not interrupt the mating process. Semen collection was successful in 112 out of total
128 trials (87.5%) and the lengthy copulation was (10.3 ± 6.2 min - Mean ± SD). Mean parameters of the collected ejaculates were:
volume of 8.3 ± 3.6 ml (Mean ± SD); sperm cell concentration of 437.6 ± 62.4 X 106 (Mean ± SD) sperm/ml; and sperm individual
motility after liquefaction for 45 min was 68.2 ± 11.4 % (Mean ± SD). Semen was grayish white to creamy white in colour depending
on sperm cell concentration. Finally, using of the collected diluted semen in IVF technique showed cleaved, morula and blastocyst rates
66.1%, 43.5% and 25.8%, respectively. In conclusion, using of intravaginal super-sensitive AI gloves is a practical technique for semen
collection and will facilitate the application of the new reproductive technologies on a large scale in dromedary camels.
Keywords: Semen collection, Camel, In-vitro fertilization