Abstract

Hideaki Yamashiro1, John R Wando, Edward Okoth, Satoshi Sugimura, Stefan Moisyadi, Eimei Sato, Edward O. Rege and Mwai Okeyo

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of different concentrations of trehalose and raffinose in Triscitric acid-glucose (TCG) egg yolk extender for the sperm freezability of Red Maasai sheep, another African breed- the Dorper and their crosses. The results showed that Red Maasai, Dorper and their crosses sperm could be cryopreserved by extending with 0.075 to 0.01 M trehalose or raffinose-TCG egg yolk extender. We conclude that the cryopreservation of currently under threat Red Maasai sheep due to uncontrolled exotic breeds sperm makes it possible to establish a gene bank for the storage of animal genetic resources for endangered species, under the management of the International Livestock Research Institute for future genetic options in an uncertain world.