Production of chimeric rabbits from morulae by a simple procedure.
Experiments were conducted to develop a simple and reliable technique to produce chimeric rabbits from morula stage embryos. In Experiments 1 and 2, an in-vitro test of viability was initially performed by culturing embryos to the blastocyst stage. Ninety-three percent of the "chimeric" embryos developed to the blastocyst stage compared to 94% for controls when embryos were manipulated soon after collection (Exp. 1). Eight-one percent chimeric embryos and 78% control embryos developed to blastocyst stage when embryos were held at room temperature for 4 hr (Exp. 2). In Experiment 3, enough morula-stage embryos were available from true breeding Dutch-belted and albino rabbits to form potentially 67 diverse "color" pairs. These micromanipulated pairs of morulae were successfully combined to produce 64 chimeric embryos (96%, 64/67). They were transferred to the uteri of seven recipient does and three became pregnant producing 13 young. Four of the young exhibited substantial overt chimerism (31%) and one more was a possible chimera.
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Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-4801.
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D000818:Animals; D002678:Chimera; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum / Q000166:cytology*; D005127:Eye Color; D005260:Female; D008845:Microinjections; D009028:Morula / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D012880:Skin Pigmentation