Vitrification of bovine oocytes

The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate the vitrification of bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) as a tool for conservation of female genetics. Specifically, the first objective was to compare in vitro maturation rates (i.e. end point Metaphase II (MII) rate) of bovine COCs following vitrification using two different equilibration times (0 vs 10 min) in vitrification solution 1 (VS1) and two different cryodevices (cryotop vs 0.25 mL straw). The MII rate was higher in the non-vitrified control group than in vitrified groups (61 vs 16%,