Comparison of two approaches to nuclear transfer in the bovine: hand-made cloning with modifications and the conventional nuclear transfer technique.
The aim of the present study was to compare the in vitro and in vivo developmental competence of hand-made cloning (HMC) embryos with the conventional nuclear transfer (NT) method using five somatic cell lines and in vitro-fertilised (IVF; control) embryos. Modifications to the HMC procedure included fusion efficiency optimisation, effect of cytoplasmic volume and cloned embryo aggregation. The developmental competence of blastocysts from each of the treatment groups and cell lines used was assessed following transfer to 345 recipients. Vitrification was also used to enable management of recipient resources and to assess the susceptibility of membranes to cryopreservation following zona removal. Increasing cytoplasmic volume to 150% or aggregating two embryos improved the blastocyst development rate and increased the total cell number. Although HMC embryo transfers established a significantly higher pregnancy rate on Day 30 than fresh IVF or NT embryo transfers, the overall outcome in terms of cloned live births derived from either fresh or vitrified/thawed HMC or NT embryo transfers across the five cell lines did not differ. The birth and continued survival of clones produced with HMC technology with equivalent efficiency to NT shows that it can be used as an alternative method for the generation of cloned offspring in the bovine.
Tecirlioglu
R Tayfur
RT
Centre for Early Human Development, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. tayfur.tecirlioglu@med.monash.edu.au
Cooney
Melissa A
MA
Lewis
Ian M
IM
Korfiatis
Natasha A
NA
Hodgson
Renee
R
Ruddock
Nancy T
NT
Vajta
Gábor
G
Downie
Shara
S
Trounson
Alan O
AO
Holland
Michael K
MK
French
Andrew J
AJ
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D002417:Cattle / Q000196:embryology; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000662:veterinary; D003571:Cytochalasin B / Q000494:pharmacology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000648:ultrastructure; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000662:veterinary; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011247:Pregnancy; D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine / Q000494:pharmacology
D012710:Serum Albumin, Bovine; D003571:Cytochalasin B