Effect of oocyte-sperm co-incubation on acrosome reaction in the goat

In vitro maturation of ovine oocytes using different maturation media: effect of human menopausal serum

OBJECTIVE

To compare the effect of human menopausal serum with estrous sheep serum, estrous goat serum, ovine follicular fluid and bovine follicular fluid on in vitro maturation, in vitro fertilization and embryo development of sheep oocytes METHOD (S): Oocytes were treated in culture with different sera and follicular fluids supplemented media to examine effects on embryo development.

RESULTS

Basic culture medium supplemented with human menopausal serum, estrous sheep serum and estrous goat serum supported better rates of in vitro maturation, in vitro fertilization and embryo development. Ovine follicular fluid and bovine follicular fluid supplementations supported similar rates of In vitro maturation, In vitro fertilization and embryo development which were lower than those supported by human menopausal serum, estrous sheep serum, estrous goat serum and control medium.

CONCLUSION

Human menopausal serum, estrous sheep serum, and estrous goat serum resulted in higher maturation, fertilization and embryo development than ovine follicular fluid, bovine follicular fluid and control media.

Update on reproductive biotechnologies in small ruminants and camelids

Recent advances in reproductive biotechnologies in small ruminants include improvement of methods for in vitro production of embryos and attempts at spermatogonial stem cell transplantation. In vitro production of embryos by IVM/IVF, intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), or nuclear transfer (NT) has been made possible by improvements in oocyte collection and maturation techniques, and early embryo culture systems. However, in vitro embryo production still is not very efficient due to several limiting factors affecting the outcome of each step of the process. This paper discusses factors affecting in vitro embryo production in small ruminants and camelids, as well as preliminary results with the technique of spermatogonial stem cell transplantation.