Responses of oocytes and embryos to the culture environment

Embryo development is strongly influenced by events occuring during oocyte maturation. Although many immature oocytes are capable of completing meiosis in vitro, only a small percentage of the original pool of immature oocytes is competent to continue development to the blastocyst stage and subseque...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Theriogenology 1998, Vol.49 (1), p.103-114
Main Authors: Krisher, R.L., Bavister, B.D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
BLASTOCYST
Blastocyst - physiology
BOVIN
CATTLE
CULTIVO DE EMBRIONES
CULTURE D'EMBRYON
cytoplasmic maturation
DESARROLLO EMBRIONARIO
DEVELOPPEMENT EMBRYONNAIRE
EMBRYO CULTURE
Embryonic and Fetal Development
EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT
Female
Fertilization in Vitro - methods
Fertilization in Vitro - veterinary
GANADO BOVINO
MADURACION
Mammals
MATURATION
metabolism
MITOCHONDRIA
MITOCHONDRIE
MITOCONDRIA
oocyte
Oocytes - physiology
OVA
OVULE
OVULO
Pregnancy
Reproductive Techniques - veterinary
ultrastructure
VIABILIDAD
VIABILITE
VIABILITY
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Summary:Embryo development is strongly influenced by events occuring during oocyte maturation. Although many immature oocytes are capable of completing meiosis in vitro, only a small percentage of the original pool of immature oocytes is competent to continue development to the blastocyst stage and subsequently result in a pregnancy. This indicates that maturation of oocytes in vitro may not be occuring in an entirely normal manner. Cytoplasmic changes occuring during maturation, collectively termed cytoplasmic maturation, are essential for embryonic development. The cytoplasm of the oocyte may play a crucial role in assembling the correct metabolic machinery for production of sufficient energy for cellular functions during maturation, cleavage and blastocyst formation. A better understanding of the structural, functional and metabolic characteristics of the oocyte during maturation, and the consequence of changes in these parameters on developmental competence is needed. Understanding the role of cytoplasmic changes during oocyte maturation will help increase the efficiency of in vitro embryo production. Better embryo production strategies will facilitate basic research into the control of early development, improve implementation in endangered species, provide a source of high quality oocytes for nuclear transfer and transgenic technologies and benefit the commercial embryo transfer industry.
ISSN:0093-691X
1879-3231
DOI:10.1016/S0093-691X(97)00405-6