title: Production of cloned sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) embryos by interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer using enucleated pig oocytes.
abstract: In this study, we examined the feasibility of using subzonal cell injection with electrofusion for interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) to produce sei whale embryos and to improve their developmental capacity by investigating the effect of osmolarity and macromolecules in the culture medium on the in vitro developmental capacity. Hybrid embryos produced by the electrofusion of fetal whale fibroblasts with enucleated porcine oocytes were cultured in modified porcine zygote medium-3 to examine the effects of osmolarity and fetal serum on their in vitro developmental capacity. More than 66% of the whale somatic cells successfully fused with the porcine oocytes following electrofusion. A portion (60 approximately 81%) of the iSCNT whale embryos developed to the two- to four-cell stages, but no embryos were able to reach the blastocyst stage. This developmental arrest was not overcome by increasing the osmolarity of the medium to 360 mOsm or by the addition of fetal bovine or fetal whale serum. Our results demonstrate that sei whale-porcine hybrid embryos may be produced by SCNT using subzonal injection and electrofusion. The pig oocytes partly supported the remodeling and reprogramming of the sei whale somatic cell nuclei, but they were unable to support the development of iSCNT whale embryos to the blastocyst stage.
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine and Institute of Veterinary Science, Kangwon National University, Chunchon 200-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Eunsong
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Mohammad Musharraf
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bhuiyan
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujise
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019976:Cloning, Organism / Q000662:veterinary*; D003470:Culture Media; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D007621:Karyotyping; D053652:Nuclear Transfer Techniques / Q000662:veterinary*; D009865:Oocytes; D013552:Swine / Q000196:embryology*; D014907:Whales / Q000196:embryology*
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media