Effect of monopotassium phosphate and oviduct cells on the in vitro fertilized mice embryos development

The study investigated the effects of three different KH2PO4 concentrations (0.59 mM; 1.19 mM; 2.38 mM) in Whitten's medium and co-culture on in vitro two-cell blocks and their development to the blastocyst stage of inbred BALB/C mice embryos following in vitro fertilization

Morphological defects in Turkey semen

The goal of this study was to evaluate the abnormal spermatozoa rates and types of American Bronze turkeys under Turkish conditions. Semen was collected from toms by abdominal massage and pooled once a week for 10 weeks. After pooling, the semen samples were examined morphologically and mean abnormal rates and types were evaluated. A total abnormal spermatozoa rate of 17 +/- 0.06% was determined. Acrosome and mid-piece defects were the leading defects at 66 +/- 0.36%. Tail defects of 22 +/- 0.18% and head defects of 11 +/- 0.11% were the next most prevalent

Effects of bovine oviduct epithelial cells, fetal calf serum and bovine serum albumin on gene expression in single bovine embryos produced in the synthetic oviduct fluid culture system

In this study the synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF) system with bovine oviduct epithelial cell ( BOEC) co-culture is compared with an SOF system with common protein supplements. One thousand six hundred bovine embryos were cultured in SOF media supplemented with BOEC, fetal calf serum (FCS) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Eight different culture groups were assigned according to the different supplementation factors. Developmental competence and the expression levels of five genes, namely glucose transporter-1 (Glut- 1), heat shock protein 70 (HSP), connexin43 (Cx43), beta-actin (ACTB) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), analysed as mRNA by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, were measured on bovine embryos cultured for 9 days. Gene expression of these in vitro-produced embryos was compared with the gene expression of in vivo-produced embryos. There was no significant difference found in embryo developmental competence between the Day 9 embryos in BOEC co-culture, FCS and BSA supplements in SOF media. However, differences in gene expression were observed. With respect to gene expression in in vivo and in vitro embryos, BOEC co-culture affected the same genes as did supplementation with FCS and BSA. HSP was the only gene that differed significantly between in vitro and in vivo embryos. When the different in vitro groups were compared, a significant difference between the BOEC co-culture and the FCS supplementation groups due to Glut- 1 expression was observed

The effect of Gonadotrophins on estrus induction and fertility in prepubertal gilts

The aim of our study was to investigate the efficacy of exogenous gonadotrophin to induce puberty and pregnancy in prepubertal gilts which had reach the weight of fully grown pigs. The animals used in the study included 195 crossbreed German Landrace gilts aged between 150-180 days old, weighing between 75-90 kg and 24 crossbreed German Landrace adult male pigs. The prepubertal gilts of Group I (n = 65) and Group H (n = 65) were first administered with single IM dose of 1500 IU PMSG. At the same time, animals from the Group III (n = 65), which formed the control group, received 2 ml of a placebo. Seventy two hours after the PMSG administration, animals from the group I received IM 500 IU hCG while 8 mug of GnRH was given to die Group 11. Animals from the control group were administered at the same time with a placebo. Twenty four hours after hCG, GnRH placebo administrations, the gilts were exposed to the male pigs during 72 hours. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed by ultrasonic techniques between 35-45 days after mating. Estrus symptoms were recorded in 56 animals (86.2 %) from the Group 1, 4.2 +/- 0.4 days after the last administration the estrus was detected in 55 animals (84.6 %) from the Group H, 4.3 +/- 0.5 days after the end of the treatment. In the control group, 61 animals exhibited estrus behaviour spontaneously 48 : 10,4 days after the last placebo administration. Pregnancy was diagnosed in 53 animals of the Group 1 (81.5 %), 51 of the Group 11 (78.5 %) and 57 of the control group (87.7 %). The size of the first litter was a 7.8 +/- 1.3 in Group 1, 7.6 +/- 1.4 in Group II and 10.2 +/- 1.1 in the control group. It has been concluded that, a fertile estrus can be induced using exogenous gonadotrophins (PMSG and hCG) or a treatment associating PMSG with GnRH in prepubertal gilts and that these treatments improve lifetime reproductive performance

The effects of BSA and FCS on in vitro maturation of bitch oocytes

The effects of protein sources added to the medium for maturation of bitch oocytes were investigated. Ovaries from spayed bitches were transported to the laboratory in PBS at 38degreesC within an hour. Recovered oocytes were divided into three groups and left for 72 h maturation at 38.5degreesC under an atmosphere of 5% CO2 and high humidity

The effects of reproductive status of cats on in vitro maturation of oocytes

In Vitro Maturation studies with cat oocytes give quite variable results. Researches have recently reported that the reporductive stage of the cat from which the oocytes have been recovered is critical for in vitro maturation of oocytes (Freisted et al., 2001; Johnston et al., 1989). In recent years, cattle (Khatir et al., 1998), sheep (Armstrong, 2001, goat (Izquerdo, et al., 1999) and swine (Marchal et al., 2001), prepubertal oocytes have been used for IVF programs. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the ability of oocytes from prepubertal cats to mature in vitro and to compare it with that of oocytes recovered at different reproductive status of cats. Meantime, the efficacy of two culture media (TCM 199 and Ham's F-10) was compared

Development of in vitro derived sheep embryos to the blastocyst stage

The objective of the present study was to mature and fertilize primary sheep oocytes in vitro and to develop them to the blastocyst stage Ovaries from slaughtered Kivircik ewes were used The ovaries were transported to the laboratory in a vacuum flask in which 30 35 C PBS (phosphate buffered saline) was included The cumulus oocyte complexes were collected by rupturing and washing the follicle wall with oocyte washing medium They were then selected under a stereo microscope and maturated for 23 24 hours in medium 199 supplemented with sodium pyruvate follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) luteinizing hormone (LH) and 10 / fetal calf serum (FCS) under 5 / CO2 atmosphere and at 38 5 C temperature Semen collected and pooled from three Kivircik rams by electro ejaculation and prepared for in vitro fertilization by Percoll gradient method was incubated for 20 21 hours with oocytes in BSOF medium supplemented with 2% sheep estrous serum (SES) (0 8x10(6) spermatozoon/ml) Presumptive zygotes were cultured in SOF medium for 8 days in synthetic oviduct medium (SOF) under an atmosphere of 5% CO2 5% O-2 and 90% N-2 Glucose (1 5mM) was added to the culture medium on Day

Transfer of in vitro produced sheep embryos

The objective of the present study was to transfer sheep embryos produced in vitro to recipient ewes. Ovaries were taken from slaughtered Kivircik ewes and transferred to the laboratory in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) at 30-35degreesC. The cumulus-oocyte complexes were obtained by slicing and washing 1-6 mm diameter follicles and matured for 24 h in medium 199 supplemented with sodium pyruvate, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) at 38.5degreesC under 5% CO2 in humidified atmosphere. Fresh semen was collected from three Kivircik rams, pooled and prepared for in vitro fertilization by the percoll-gradient method. Matured oocytes were transferred into synthetic oviduct fluid (SOF) based fertilization medium supplemented with 2% sheep oestrous serum (SES) and co-incubated with semen (0.8 x 10(6) spermatozoon/ml) for 20-21 h. After fertilization, presumptive zygotes were transferred into SOF medium and incubated for 8 days under an atmosphere of 5% CO2, 5% 02 and 90% N-2 at 38.5degreesC. Glucose (1.5 mM) was added to the culture medium on day 4. In culture, embryos were checked for cleavage and embryo development on days 4 and 8, respectively