title: Comparison of the effect of two different handling media on rabbit zygote developmental ability.
abstract: Despite the attention paid to culture media, the relevance of the handling medium at egg recovery/transfer is frequently overlooked. In the present work, we compare the effect of two different handling media (PBS and HEPES-buffered Ham F10, both supplemented with 20% (v/v) FCS), upon in vitro and in vivo developmental ability of in vivo fertilised rabbit zygotes. Zygotes recovered in HEPES-buffered medium (permanence 1 h as maximum) and subsequently cultured in vitro developed more efficiently to the compacted morula (100%) and blastocyst stage (92%) than those recovered in PBS (83% and 76%, respectively, P < 0.05). Zygotes recovered in such media were then further bilaterally transferred to recipient does following a brief in vitro culture period (for 4 hours). At caesarean section (day 28 of pregnancy), significant differences were observed in both the percentage of pregnant uterine horns (PBS: 60% vs. HEPES-buffered Ham F10: 100%) and live birth rates (PBS: 14% vs. HEPES-buffered Ham F10: 34%). Thus when early rabbit zygotes must be handled, even for short incubation periods, the medium is not innocuous.
authors: Department of Animal Science, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Spain. mescriba@dca.upv.es
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: Escribá
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Silvestre
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Saeed
authors: F
authors: F
authors: García-Ximénez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003470:Culture Media; D046508:Culture Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits / Q000196:embryology*; D015053:Zygote / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media