The effects of type I collagenase on the degelification of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) semen plug and sperm quality

Background Semen from the chimpanzee species becomes a colloidal solid after ejaculation. The formation of this copulatory plug is believed to prevent additional spermatozoa of subsequent mating events from accessing the ova. However, this naturally preserved strategy hampers the processes for sperm preparation. In this study, we investigated whether collagenase can be used to degelify the semen plug and accelerate the semen liquefaction process in zoo captive chimpanzee species (Pan troglodytes). Results We showed that incubation of chimpanzee ejaculates with 0.1% type I collagenase efficiently and significantly (p