Practical applications of sperm selection techniques as a tool for improving reproductive efficiency

Abstract

Modern biotechnologies are used extensively in the animal breeding industry today. Therefore, it is essential that sperm handling procedures do not modulate the normal physiological mechanisms occurring in the female reproductive tract. In this paper, the different selection mechanisms occurring in vivo are described briefly, together with their relevance to artificial insemination, followed by a detailed description of the different selection processes used in reproductive biotechnologies. These selection methods included fractionated semen collection, cryopreservation, biomimetic sperm selection, selection based on hyaluronic acid binding, and last, but not least, sperm sex selection. Biomimetic sperm selection for AI or for cryopreservation could improve pregnancy rates and help to reverse the decline in fertility seen in several domestic species over the recent decades. Similarly, selection for hyaluronic acid binding sites may enable the most mature spermatozoa to be selected for IVF or ICSI.