Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T21:18:21.462Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

An attempt at intracytoplasmic sperm injection of frozen-thawed minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) oocytes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2001

Masatsugu Asada
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.
Hong Wei
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.
Rie Nagayama
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.
Masafumi Tetsuka
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.
Hajime Ishikawa
Affiliation:
The Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan.
Seiji Ohsumi
Affiliation:
The Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo 104-0055, Japan.
Yutaka Fukui
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro 080-8555, Japan.

Abstract

Little is known about the characteristics of fertilisation events in minke whales. Cryopreserved minke whale oocytes and spermatozoa do not fertilise in a standard IVF. This study was conducted to investigate the pronucleus formation ability of cryopreserved minke whale oocytes and their subsequent development following intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In experiment 1, frozen-thawed minke whale immature oocytes were cultured for in vitro maturation (IVM) in a maturation medium (TCM199) supplemented with either porcine follicle stimulating hormone (pFSH)/estradiol-17β(E2) or pregnant mare's serum gonadotropin (PMSG)/human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). After 120 h of IVM, oocyte survival was examined before ICSI, and showed no significant difference in morphological normality (24-36%) between the two IVM media. Two-cell embryos (two oocytes from 21 sperm-injected oocytes) were obtained when the maturation medium was supplemented with pFSH/E2 or PMSG/hCG. In experiment 2, cryopreserved maturing oocytes were investigated for the effects of repeat-culture (2 h or 24 h) on survival before ICSI. Pronuclear formation and development were examined for the effects of sperm pretreatment with dithiothreitol (DTT) and oocyte activation with ethanol at ICSI. A frequency of 49-69% of frozen-thawed maturing oocytes was used for ICSI. Although oocyte activation did not produce a significant difference in survival, pronucleus formation and embryonic development, 2- and 4-cell cleaved oocytes were observed after injection of sperm pretreated with DTT.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2001 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)