Development of a non-programmable sperm cryopreservation technique in dwarf surfclams Mulinia lateralis–a potential model species for bivalve research

Sperm cryopreservation technique has been published in many farmed bivalve species. One of the key factors preventing its application in aquaculture and/or cryobanking is the knowledge gap on the performance of resultant progeny at late developmental stages and subsequent generations. An effective strategy to overcome these challenges is to use a model species with a short generation interval, such as the dwarf surfclam Mulinia lateralis (three months). This study evaluated the parameters key to the development of a non-programmable sperm cryopreservation technique in this species, with a D-stage larval rate similar to control being achieved when the sperm were cryopreserved under the conditions (cryoprotectant agent: 8% dimethyl sulfoxide; equilibration period: 10 min; rack height: 4 cm; thawing temperature: 60°C and sperm to egg ratio: 1100:1) optimized. This technique is the most common method applied in bivalve and the results from this study were all within the ranges published for other bivalve species, indicating this species would be an ideal bivalve model species for addressing cryopreservation evaluation issues that need a long extended time to collect data and/or challenging field experiments.