title: Production of Middle White piglets after transfer of embryos produced in vitro.
abstract: The present study was conducted to examine the feasibility of in vitro embryo production and transfer technologies for producing Middle White piglets. After collection from three retired Middle White sows, a total of 222 oocytes were matured, fertilized and cultured in vitro, and a total of 50 embryos from the 4-cell to blastocyst stage were produced by the 4th or 5th day. These embryos were transferred individually into three recipients along with 5 in vivo-derived Duroc blastocysts. All of the recipients became pregnant, and they farrowed a total of 9 Middle White and 9 Duroc piglets. These results suggest that in vitro embryo production using ovaries from retired sows is useful for reproduction of pigs of pure breeds including the Middle White for breeding activities and conservation/utilization of genetic resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology, National Livestock Breeding Center, Fukushima 961-8511, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Misumi
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirayama
authors.forename: Misae
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D013552:Swine / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology