title: Contribution of oocyte source and culture conditions to phenotypic and transcriptomic variation in commercially produced bovine blastocysts.
abstract: Bovine embryo production is practiced worldwide for commercial purposes. A major concern of embryo suppliers is the impact of in vitro production systems on embryo quality. In the present study, we compared Buffalo Rat Liver cell coculture with semidefined, medium-based culture, oocytes recovered postmortem with those obtained from live animals, and in vitro with in vivo embryo development. Gene expression levels in expanded blastocysts were measured using microarray and quantitative RT-PCR. The systems were similar in terms of blastocyst yield and rate of development, whereas embryo productivity was greater for immature oocytes collected in vivo. Although immature oocytes collected in vivo had greater developmental competence, they yielded blastocysts that were indistinguishable (in terms of level of gene expression) from embryos derived from immature oocytes recovered postmortem. Culture conditions had a significant impact on gene expression, particularly among genes involved in lipid metabolism. Numerous uncharacterized novel transcript regions were also influenced by in vitro treatments. In conclusion, ovum pick-up combined with in vitro culture in semidefined medium provided a high blastocyst yield, without the deleterious effects associated with coculture.
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche en biologie de la reproduction, Institut des nutraceutiques et des aliments fonctionnels, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Dany
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Plourde
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vigneault
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lemay
authors.forename: Lévéke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Breton
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gagné
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Laflamme
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Blondin
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002417:Cattle / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000662:veterinary; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003132:Commerce; D003470:Culture Media / Q000494:pharmacology*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000662:veterinary; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D059471:In Vitro Oocyte Maturation Techniques; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D051381:Rats; D011915:Rats, Inbred BUF; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media