Abstract Birth of offspring of a pre-determined sex using flow cytometrically sorted fresh spermatozoa was first achieved in rabbits by Johnson et al. (1989). Since then offspring have been produced using sex-sorted spermatozoa from several different species (reviewed by Johnson, 2000). Initially, efficiency of the sex-sorting technology was poor with only low numbers of spermatozoa sorted per hour. Thus, the offspring derived from flow cytometrically sorted spermatozoa were produced with the use of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and culture (IVC), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and deep artificial insemination (AI) which facilitated low dose insemination of potentially compromised spermatozoa. More recently, the development of high-speed sorters (Johnson and Welch, 1999) has facilitated the production of offspring using conventional AI techniques with low dose inseminates (Seidel et al., 1999) and successful cryopreservation of sorted spermatozoa (Schenk et al., 1999; Johnson et al., 2000; Lindsey et al., 2002; Schenk and DeGrofft, 2003). Increased efficiency of sorting bull spermatozoa has evolved through significant instrumentation and biological developments which have enabled the commercialization of the sperm sexing technology in the dairy industry, although conception rates in cows after low dose AI with sexed frozen-thawed spermatozoa are still lower than after standard frozen semen AI (Seidel et al., 1999). Subsequently, over 20 000 calves of pre-determined sex have been produced from commercially available sex-sorted frozen-thawed bull spermatozoa (Seidel, 2003). However, similar developments have not been made in the sheep industry and were examined in this thesis. In this study, successful cryopreservation of sex-sorted ram spermatozoa and production of offspring of the pre-determined sex (X: 94.4 %; Y: 100 %) was achieved after low dose (2-4 x 106 total) insemination using conventional laparoscopic intrauterine (IU) AI. However, the overall pregnancy rate for ewes inseminated with sex-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa was low (25 %) compared to ewes inseminated with a commercial dose (140 x 106 total) of non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa (54 %). Cryopreservation has been found to not only reduce the proportion of motile spermatozoa, but cause the remaining spermatozoa to undergo changes that advance membrane maturation thereby shortening their lifespan, especially after in vivo fertilisation (Gillan and Maxwell, 1999). It was found that sorting prior to cryopreservation accelerated the maturation of sperm membranes and after co-incubation with oviducal cells in vitro, sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa were released more rapidly than non-sorted (control) frozen-thawed spermatozoa. The potentially reduced lifespan of sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa, and practical constraints on the number of spermatozoa that can be sorted for an insemination dose, makes insemination close to the site of fertilisation and time of ovulation critical for successful fertilisation. After treatment of ewes with GnRH to increase the precision of insemination in respect to the time of ovulation, there was no difference in pregnancy rate between ewes inseminated before, during or after the assumed time of ovulation. Furthermore, there was no difference in pregnancy rate after IU AI with similar doses of sorted frozen-thawed and non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa in GnRH-treated ewes. The minimum dose of sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa required for commercially acceptable pregnancy rates determined after IU AI was high (20 x 106 motile). Consequently, alternative methods for efficiently producing large numbers of offspring of a pre-determined sex using flow cytometrically sorted ram spermatozoa were investigated. Ram spermatozoa can be stored for short periods of time in a chilled state (liquid storage) or for an indefinite period of time in a frozen state (frozen storage; Salamon and Maxwell, 2000). The fixed location of the sperm sorter requires the need for transport of semen from the point of collection to the site of sorting and processing, but also from the sperm sorter site to the recipient females under artificial conditions. In this study, ram spermatozoa liquid stored for 24 h prior to sorting were efficiently sorted, frozen, thawed and after in vitro fertilisation and culture produced a high proportion of grade 1 blastocysts. Similarly, spermatozoa stored at reduced temperatures after sorting maintained high sperm quality for up to 6 days. Furthermore, frozen-thawed spermatozoa from rams and some non-human primates were successfully prepared for sorting and efficiently sorted producing spermatozoa with high quality in vitro parameters. The quality of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa after sorting was such that successful re-cryopreservation after sorting was possible. Low numbers of frozen-thawed sorted and re-frozen and thawed spermatozoa were optimal for IVF and a high proportion of grade 1 in vitro embryos of a pre-determined sex were produced. These embryos were either transferred immediately or vitrified prior to transfer, extending the application of the sperm sexing technology further. The birth of lambs of pre-determined sex after transfer of both fresh and vitrified embryos derived from frozen-thawed sorted spermatozoa was achieved. The findings in this thesis suggest that sorted frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa may have more advanced membrane maturation state than non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa, resulting in a decreased fertilizing lifespan in the female reproductive tract. Despite this, the use of sexed ram spermatozoa in a number of physiological states (fresh, liquid, frozen) with several different ARTs is possible in producing significant numbers of offspring of a pre-determined sex. Improved efficiency in both sperm sexing and associated reproductive technologies is required for commercialization to be achieved in the sheep industry.

Abstract Birth of offspring of a pre-determined sex using flow cytometrically sorted fresh spermatozoa was first achieved in rabbits by Johnson et al. (1989). Since then offspring have been produced using sex-sorted spermatozoa from several different species (reviewed by Johnson, 2000). Initially, efficiency of the sex-sorting technology was poor with only low numbers of spermatozoa sorted per hour. Thus, the offspring derived from flow cytometrically sorted spermatozoa were produced with the use of artificial reproductive technologies (ART) such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and culture (IVC), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and deep artificial insemination (AI) which facilitated low dose insemination of potentially compromised spermatozoa. More recently, the development of high-speed sorters (Johnson and Welch, 1999) has facilitated the production of offspring using conventional AI techniques with low dose inseminates (Seidel et al., 1999) and successful cryopreservation of sorted spermatozoa (Schenk et al., 1999; Johnson et al., 2000; Lindsey et al., 2002; Schenk and DeGrofft, 2003). Increased efficiency of sorting bull spermatozoa has evolved through significant instrumentation and biological developments which have enabled the commercialization of the sperm sexing technology in the dairy industry, although conception rates in cows after low dose AI with sexed frozen-thawed spermatozoa are still lower than after standard frozen semen AI (Seidel et al., 1999). Subsequently, over 20 000 calves of pre-determined sex have been produced from commercially available sex-sorted frozen-thawed bull spermatozoa (Seidel, 2003). However, similar developments have not been made in the sheep industry and were examined in this thesis. In this study, successful cryopreservation of sex-sorted ram spermatozoa and production of offspring of the pre-determined sex (X: 94.4 %; Y: 100 %) was achieved after low dose (2-4 x 106 total) insemination using conventional laparoscopic intrauterine (IU) AI. However, the overall pregnancy rate for ewes inseminated with sex-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa was low (25 %) compared to ewes inseminated with a commercial dose (140 x 106 total) of non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa (54 %). Cryopreservation has been found to not only reduce the proportion of motile spermatozoa, but cause the remaining spermatozoa to undergo changes that advance membrane maturation thereby shortening their lifespan, especially after in vivo fertilisation (Gillan and Maxwell, 1999). It was found that sorting prior to cryopreservation accelerated the maturation of sperm membranes and after co-incubation with oviducal cells in vitro, sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa were released more rapidly than non-sorted (control) frozen-thawed spermatozoa. The potentially reduced lifespan of sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa, and practical constraints on the number of spermatozoa that can be sorted for an insemination dose, makes insemination close to the site of fertilisation and time of ovulation critical for successful fertilisation. After treatment of ewes with GnRH to increase the precision of insemination in respect to the time of ovulation, there was no difference in pregnancy rate between ewes inseminated before, during or after the assumed time of ovulation. Furthermore, there was no difference in pregnancy rate after IU AI with similar doses of sorted frozen-thawed and non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa in GnRH-treated ewes. The minimum dose of sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa required for commercially acceptable pregnancy rates determined after IU AI was high (20 x 106 motile). Consequently, alternative methods for efficiently producing large numbers of offspring of a pre-determined sex using flow cytometrically sorted ram spermatozoa were investigated. Ram spermatozoa can be stored for short periods of time in a chilled state (liquid storage) or for an indefinite period of time in a frozen state (frozen storage; Salamon and Maxwell, 2000). The fixed location of the sperm sorter requires the need for transport of semen from the point of collection to the site of sorting and processing, but also from the sperm sorter site to the recipient females under artificial conditions. In this study, ram spermatozoa liquid stored for 24 h prior to sorting were efficiently sorted, frozen, thawed and after in vitro fertilisation and culture produced a high proportion of grade 1 blastocysts. Similarly, spermatozoa stored at reduced temperatures after sorting maintained high sperm quality for up to 6 days. Furthermore, frozen-thawed spermatozoa from rams and some non-human primates were successfully prepared for sorting and efficiently sorted producing spermatozoa with high quality in vitro parameters. The quality of frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa after sorting was such that successful re-cryopreservation after sorting was possible. Low numbers of frozen-thawed sorted and re-frozen and thawed spermatozoa were optimal for IVF and a high proportion of grade 1 in vitro embryos of a pre-determined sex were produced. These embryos were either transferred immediately or vitrified prior to transfer, extending the application of the sperm sexing technology further. The birth of lambs of pre-determined sex after transfer of both fresh and vitrified embryos derived from frozen-thawed sorted spermatozoa was achieved. The findings in this thesis suggest that sorted frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa may have more advanced membrane maturation state than non-sorted frozen-thawed spermatozoa, resulting in a decreased fertilizing lifespan in the female reproductive tract. Despite this, the use of sexed ram spermatozoa in a number of physiological states (fresh, liquid, frozen) with several different ARTs is possible in producing significant numbers of offspring of a pre-determined sex. Improved efficiency in both sperm sexing and associated reproductive technologies is required for commercialization to be achieved in the sheep industry.

Gender of animal offspring is of great interest to farmers where gender selection is achieved via the separation of male-bearing from female-bearing sperms prior to performing artificial insemination. A start-up company (Ab Biotech Inc.) has developed a technique for gender selection based on the production of an intracellular single-domain antibody (sdAb) using the bacterium Escherichia coli capable of sexing bovine sperm. The purpose of this research was to provide a recommendation to Ab Biotech Inc. for the lysis of E. coli. An efficient lysis technique was required in order to release the intracellular sdAb. In the dairy industry, sexing for female calves is preferred since male calves are not useful for the purpose of milk production. Multiple lysis techniques were tested in order to provide a feasible recommendation for Ab Biotech Inc. These techniques included high pressure homogenization, sonication, bead milling and enzymatic/chemical lysis using lysozymes and Triton X-100. Required lysis time, extent of lysis and potential operating costs were contributing factors for determining an optimal technique. The extent of lysis was determined by quantifying the total amount of released protein using SDS-PAGE densitometry. It was recommended to choose bead milling for potential process upscaling since a large amount of fractional lysis (0.70) was obtained over a short amount of lysis time (3 min) with an inexpensive ($9.50/kg) 0.3 mm mixture of glass beads.

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Bislang wurden Bullen in der Milchrinderzucht anhand des Töchterleistungsvergleiches bewertet, was zur Folge hatte, dass die Zuchtwertschätzung erst nach fünf Jahren vorlag (REENTS UND REINHARDT, 2007). Durch die 2010 eingeführte genomische Zuchtwertschätzung werden Bullenkälber bereits in den ersten Lebensmonaten geprüft und die erfolgreichen Bullen ab einem Alter von 12 Monaten zur Spermaproduktion von den Besamungsstationen eingesetzt. Zu bedenken ist dabei, dass Jungbullen unter 2 Jahren lediglich ein durchschnittliches Ejakulatvolumen von 2-4 ml aufweisen und die Spermienkonzentration deutlich unter der von Altbullen liegt. Es müssen daher entweder mehr Jungbullen zum Einsatz kommen oder die Besamungsportionen müssen in ihrer Spermienkon-zentration reduziert werden. Eine am Institut für Nutztiergenetik Mariensee ent-wickelte Methode, der Sperm-Intra-Fallopian-Transfer (SIFT®), ermöglicht es, minimal dosierte Spermaportionen unchirurgisch in den Eileiter zu übertragen (GROSSFELD ET AL., 2011B). Ein wesentlicher Vorteil dieser Methode ist die Re-duzierung des Besamungsvolumens unter Beibehaltung des Volu-men/Mengenverhältnisses. Zielsetzung dieser Arbeit war es, eine in Volumen und Spermienzahl reduzierte Spermaportion neu zu konfektionieren und ein angepasstes Kühl- sowie Gefrierprotokoll zu entwickeln. Hierbei sollten vergleichbare Auftauqualitäten wie in einer üblichen Besamungsportion erreicht werden. Die Qualität des Spermas wurde dabei sowohl unter Laborbedingungen als auch in Testbesamungen an zufällig ausgewählten Färsen und Kühen evaluiert. In ersten Screeningversuchen wurde zunächst ein Tiefgefrierverfahren für gering dosierte Verpackungssysteme (Nanostraw) mit einem Volumen bis 50 µl entwickelt. Dabei sollten vergleichbare Auftauqualitäten üblicher Besamungs-portionen erreicht werden. Es wurden sechs verschiedene Kühlkurven (A-D, D+ und E) entwickelt. Dabei zeigte sich, dass aufgrund der Stickstoff-volumeneinströme ein Haltepunkt bei -8°C in keiner der Einfrierkurven für kleine Volumina zu etablieren war. Dies ist u.a. auf die bauartbedingten Vorgaben des verwendeten Einfrierautomaten zurückzuführen. Ebenso wurde der Zusatz von 7,5% Glyzerin im Verdünner bei dem Gefrierprotokoll D+ aufgrund der Datenlage des Vorversuchs für den Hauptversuch verworfen. Die Proben wurden bullenindividuell erhoben, zur besseren statistischen Absicherung jedoch für die Auswertung zusammengefasst. Aus den Screeningversuchen erschien das Kryokonservierungsprotokoll D+ für den Nanostraw unter Laborbedingungen am geeignetsten und wurde im Thermoresistenztest, der den Bedingungen im Hinblick auf die Temperatur im Uterus bzw. Eileiter ähnlich ist, getestet. Weiterhin fand ein Vergleich der spermatologischen Qualitätsparameter nach dem Auftauen zwischen der Kontroll- und der Nanostrawgruppe mit der Kühlkurve D+ im Thermoresistenztest statt. Im praktischen Teil der Arbeit wurde die Methode SIFT® zunächst anhand eines Versuchs mit geschlechtsdifferenziertem Frischsamen praktiziert. Dabei wurden 20 Färsen mittelseiner Prid®α 1, 55g Progesteron-Spirale und zehn Kühe mit einem Ovsynch Programm synchronisiert. In einem weiteren Besamungsversuch konnte das Sperma aus den Nanostraws verwendet werden, das vorher kryokonserviert worden ist. Es wurden nur spontan brünstige Färsen und Kühe in den Eileiter besamt. Die Untersuchungen führten zu folgenden Ergebnissen: 1) In den Screeningversuchen zeigte sich, dass der Anteil motiler Spermien signifikant (p≤0,05) abhängig von der Gefriergeschwindigkeit der Kühlkurve war. Der höchste Anteil motiler Spermien aus dem Nanostraw war in Kühlkurve D+ mit einem Anteil von 52,9% zu verzeichnen. Eine signifikante Zunahme des Anteils membranintakter Spermien von Kurve A zu B und D zu D+ war zu beobachten. Die Hälfte der Nanostrawspermien zeigten in der Kühlkurve D+ eine intakte Membranintegrität. Die Kontrollspermien lagen bei 56,9%. In Kurve D+ zeigten 66,6% der Spermien aus dem Nanostraw keine morphologischen Veränderungen, in der Kontrollgruppe waren dies 75,4%. Die Änderung der Glyzerinkonzentration im Verdünnungsmedium zeigte keine signifikante Verbesserung der Spermaqualitätsparameter nach dem Auftauen. 2) Im Thermoresistenztest erreichten die Spermien aus dem Nanostraw in allen gemessenen Parametern die Mindestanforderungen an die Spermaqualität nach Rath et al. (2009). So belief sich der Anteil membranintakter Spermien aus dem Nanostraw nach dreistündiger Inkubation bei 37°C auf 56,4%, die Kontrollstrawspermien lagen bei einem Anteil von 67,2%. Dabei zeigte der Faktor Bulle einen signifikanten Effekt (p≤0,01) auf den Anteil motiler und progressiver Spermien sowie den Anteil PI-negativer Spermien. Mögliche Effekte des Bullen auf die Qualität und Befruchtungsfähigkeit der Spermien nach dem Auftauen zeigten andere Versuchsanstellungen und Forschungshypothesen (JANUSKAUSKAS ET AL., 1996, KATHIRAVAN ET AL., 2011). 3) In dem ersten Besamungsversuch wurden 20 Färsen und zehn Kühen geschlechtsdifferenziertes Sperma mit der Methode SIFT® in den Eileiter über-tragen. 37,5% der Färsen und 33% der Kühe wurden tragend. Dabei konnte ein bullenindividueller dosisabhängiger Effekt festgestellt werden. 50% der Kühe, die mit 500.000 Samenzellen inseminiert wurden und 16% der Kühe, die mit 250.000 Samenzellen besamt wurden, wurden tragend. 4) Im Besamungsversuch mit dem kryokonservierten Sperma aus dem Na-nostraw wurden sechs spontan brünstige Rinder mittels SIFT®-Spermien in den Eileiter übertragen. Alle Tiere wurden als Kälber für die Follikelpunktion in einem anderen Versuch verwendet. Fünf Tiere wurden mit dem Bullen A besamt. 40% der Tiere wurden tragend. Lediglich ein Tier wurde mit dem Bullen B besamt. Das Trächtigkeitsergebnis war negativ. Die Kühe wurden mit dem Bullen A besamt, dieser erzielte eine Trächtigkeitsrate von 33%.