The effect of okadaic acid on meiotic maturation of canine oocytes of different size.

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of okadic acid (OA), a potent inhibitor of seronine/treonine 1 and 2A phosphatase, on meiotic resumption and progression in canine oocytes with different diameters. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were collected from ovaries of bitches at different oestrous phases. In Experiment 1, to determine the optimal concentration of OA (0.

Different temporal gene expression patterns for ovine pre-implantation embryos produced by parthenogenesis or in vitro fertilization.

Parthenogenetic activation of the mammalian oocyte constitutes an essential step to a number of oocyte- or embryo-related technologies. Mammalian parthenotes are useful tools for studying the roles of paternal and maternal genomes in early mammalian development and are considered potential candidates for an ethical source of embryonic stem cells. We investigated the in vitro developmental competence of pre-implantation ovine embryos derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF) and parthenogenetic activation (PA) together with the expression of a panel of fourteen genes at different times of development.

Expression pattern of zygote arrest 1 (ZAR1), maternal antigen that embryo requires (MATER), growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) genes in ovine oocytes and in vitro-produced preimplantation embryos.

The expression patterns of four maternal effect genes (MEG), namely zygote arrest 1 (ZAR1), maternal antigen that embryo requires (MATER), growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) and bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15), were determined in ovine oocytes and in vitro-produced preimplantation embryos. The existence of ZAR1 and MATER in ovine species has not been reported previously. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was performed on germinal vesicle and IVM MII oocytes, as well as in in vitro fertilised and cultured two-, four-, eight- and 12/16-cell embryos, morulae and blastocysts.

Vitrification of in vitro matured ovine oocytes affects in vitro pre-implantation development and mRNA abundance.

The impact of vitrification procedures on in vitro matured (IVM) ovine oocytes mRNA content and ability to undergo successful fertilization, cleavage and embronic development was assessed. Vitrified-warmed (n = 113) and control (n = 140) IVM oocytes were in vitro fertilized and cultured up to blastocyst stage under standard conditions. Vitrified oocytes showed lower cleavage rate (47% vs.