title: Promotion of development of bovine embryos produced in vitro by addition of cysteine and beta-mercaptoethanol to a chemically defined culture system.
abstract: The aim of this research was to determine the effects of L-cysteine and beta-mercaptoethanol on the in vitro development of bovine embryos that had been produced in vitro. A 2 x 3 factorial arrangement of treatments was used to evaluate the effect of 0.63 or 6.9 microM L-cysteine and 0, 10, or 100 microM beta-mercaptoethanol on the development of bovine embryos in a chemically defined medium. Embryos containing 6 to 8 cells were randomly allocated to one of the six treatment combinations and were cultured for 7 d. Both beta-mercaptoethanol and L-cysteine increased the number of embryos that reached the blastocyst stage of development, although no interaction was observed between the compounds. Embryos that were cultured in the presence of beta-mercaptoethanol had more cells at the blastocyst stage than did embryos cultured in medium without beta-mercaptoethanol. These findings provide evidence that beta-mercaptoethanol and L-cysteine promote increased embryonic development and that beta-mercaptoethanol increases the number of cells in bovine embryos produced in vitro and cultured in a cell-free, protein-free culture system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames 50011-3150, USA.
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Caamaño
authors.forename: Z Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Ryoo
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Youngs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D002417:Cattle / Q000196:embryology*; D003470:Culture Media; D046508:Culture Techniques; D003545:Cysteine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000662:veterinary*; D008623:Mercaptoethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D008623:Mercaptoethanol; D003545:Cysteine