Advances in Semen Preservation, Sperm Quality Assessment and Reproductive Technologies in the Ovine Species
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Farm Animal Production".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 36
Special Issue Editors
Interests: artificial insemination; assisted reproductive technologies; fertility; flow cytometry; ovine; proteomics; ram; semen preservation; sheep; sperm quality
Interests: animal reproduction; in vitro fertilization; embryo; in vitro maturation; sperm; oocyte; DNA; RNA; genomics; transcriptomic
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Artificial insemination (AI) and other assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are essential tools for genetic improvement and sustainable breeding programs in livestock. However, their application in sheep remains limited due to species-specific challenges, including the anatomical complexity of the female genital tract, limitations of current semen preservation methods, low correlation between sperm quality assessment and fertilization outcomes, reproductive seasonality, and anecdotal in vitro embryo production worldwide. While laparoscopic AI with frozen–thawed semen can achieve acceptable fertility, it has highly exigent requirements of specialized equipment and personnel. Vaginal AI remains the ideal approach, but its application with cryopreserved semen leads to low fertility, leaving refrigerated semen as the main alternative despite its short functional lifespan. Unlike the bovine industry, the in vitro production of ovine embryos (IVP) is still not a routine practice due to the difficulties of embryo transfer (ET). To overcome these constraints, advances are needed in semen preservation techniques, the detection of sublethal sperm damage, the identification of reliable fertility biomarkers, and the development of innovative ARTs tailored to ovine anatomy and physiology. Extending the functional lifespan of refrigerated semen and enabling the use of cervical AI with frozen–thawed doses, as well as new techniques heading the advancement of IVP and ET, would represent significant progress toward the broader adoption of ART in sheep.
This Special Issue aims to gather original research articles and reviews focused on innovative approaches to semen preservation, advanced sperm quality assessment tools, fertility prediction models, and improved ART protocols for AI, IVP, and ET. Interdisciplinary studies linking reproduction, biotechnology, molecular biology, and livestock management are particularly encouraged.
Dr. Marta Neila-Montero
Dr. Cristina Soriano-Úbeda
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- artificial insemination
- assisted reproductive technologies
- embryo transfer
- fertility biomarkers
- fertilization ability
- frozen–thawed semen
- ovine reproduction
- refrigerated semen
- semen preservation
- sperm quality assessment
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