Successful in vitro fertilization of in vivo matured oocytes aspirated laparoscopically from red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus).

摘要

In the first of 2 experiments, follicular development in 20 red deer hinds was synchronized by the insertion of intravaginal progesterone-releasing devices for 10 days, and ovarian stimulation was induced with 1000 IU PMSG injected intramuscularly 48 h before device removal. Oocytes were harvested by laparoscopy 24 h after device removal and incubated with frozen-thawed red deer spermatozoa for 24 h. Oocytes and embryos were fixed and stained at different developmental times. The external morphological changes (cumulus expansion, extrusion of the second polar body and cytokinesis) paralleled the changes in the nucleus (formation of the metaphase II spindle, pronucleus formation and nuclear division respectively). In the second experiment, 39 aspiration procedures were carried out on 14 red deer hinds, and 44 cumulus-oocyte complexes were aspirated from 95 large Graafian follicles; of these, 27 were classed as mature and non-degenerated. 17 oocytes cleaved after in vitro fertilization, yielding six 2-cell embryos, six 4-cell embryos, four 8-cell embryos and one 16-cell embryo.