L-carnitine supplemented extenders improve post-thawing quality of honey bee drone (apis mellifera) spermatozoa

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the eff ects of L-carnitine on honey bee (Apis mellifera) drone spermatozoon at post-thaw. Semen samples obtained from sexually mature drones were pooled. Then, pooled semen was diluted with diff erent concentrations of L-carnitine (2.5 mM/ 5 mM/ 10 mM) and without L-carnitine (control) supplemented extenders. Motility, plasma membrane functional integrity, acrosomal integrity and mitochondrial function were negatively aff ected by the cryopreservation process but DNA integrity was not aff ected. Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration was used for analyzing the membrane lipid peroxidation status and a better result was obtained in the LC5 group compared with the control group at post-thaw. L-carnitine groups had a positive eff ect on sperm motility, plasma membrane integrity, and mitochondrial function compared to the control group (P<0.05). Acrosomal integrity was better preserved in the LC5 group compared to the control group. The study shows that LC supplemented extenders have beneficial eff ects on honey bee drone sperm parameters. The results of the present study demonstrated the beneficial eff ect of using a 5 mMol LC supplemented extender.

Keywords

• apis mellifera
• cryopreservation
• drone semen
• honey bee
• l-carnitine