The morphological and functional ultrastructure of cells in pre-implantation embryos.

Cells of pre-implantation embryos are equipped with many morphological and functional systems through which they can synthesize specific proteins and effectively ensure the protection of early embryonic development. Here we present evidence for the existence of these systems in morphologically normal and abnormal bovine blastocyst stage embryos in vivo at the ultrastructural and actin cytoskeleton levels. The appearance of organelles in the trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) cells, responsible for their synthetic activities and their role in the development of early bovine embryos are described.

Glutathione during Post-Thaw Recovery Culture Can Mitigate Deleterious Impact of Vitrification on Bovine Oocytes.

Vitrification of bovine oocytes can impair subsequent embryo development mostly due to elevated oxidative stress. This study was aimed at examining whether glutathione, a known antioxidant, can improve further embryo development when added to devitrified oocytes for a short recovery period. Bovine in vitro matured oocytes were vitrified using an ultra-rapid cooling technique on electron microscopy grids.

Relationship between the animal body condition and reproduction: the biotechnological aspects.

The aim of this review was to evaluate the relationship between the body condition of cows and reproduction. Reproduction was evaluated from the viewpoint of animal husbandry traits, ovarian activity and embryo transfer. Main emphasis was given to the review of articles from the area of biotechnical methods (in vitro embryo production, embryo transfer).