International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Effects of Antifreeze Protein III on Sperm Cryopreservation of Pacific Abalone, Haliotis discus hannai Shaharior Hossen 1 , Md. Rajib Sharker 1,2, Yusin Cho 1, Zahid Parvez Sukhan 1 and Kang Hee Kho 1,* 1 Department of Fisheries Science, College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, Chonnam National University, 50 Daehak-ro, Yeosu 59626, Jeonnam, Korea;
[email protected] (S.H.);
[email protected] (M.R.S.);
[email protected] (Y.C.);
[email protected] (Z.P.S.) 2 Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Fisheries, Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali 8602, Bangladesh * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +82-616-597-168; Fax: +82-616-597-169 Abstract: Pacific abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) is a highly commercial seafood in Southeast Asia. The aim of the present study was to improve the sperm cryopreservation technique for this valuable species using an antifreeze protein III (AFPIII). Post-thaw sperm quality parameters including motility, acrosome integrity (AI), plasma membrane integrity (PMI), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), DNA integrity, fertility, hatchability, and mRNA abundance level of heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) were determined to ensure improvement of the cryopreservation technique. Post-thaw motility of sperm cryopreserved with AFPIII at 10 µg/mL combined with 8% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (61.3 ± 2.7%), 8% ethylene glycol (EG) (54.3 ± 3.3%), 6% propylene glycol (PG) (36.6 ± 2.6%), or 2% glycerol (GLY) (51.7 ± 3.0%) was significantly improved than that of sperm cryopreserved without AFPIII. Post-thaw motility of sperm cryopreserved with 2% MeOH and 1 µg/mL of AFPIII was also improved than that of sperm cryopreserved without AFPIII.