title: Open pulled straw vitrification and slow freezing of sheep IVF embryos using different cryoprotectants.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the post-thaw survival and hatching rates of sheep blastocysts using different cryoprotectants. In Experiment 1, Day 6 sheep embryos were cryopreserved by a slow freezing protocol using 10% ethylene glycol (EG), 10% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or a mixture of 5% EG and 5% DMSO. Hatching rates were higher in the 10% EG group than in the 10% DMSO or EG + DMSO groups (30% vs 18% and 20%, respectively). In Experiment 2, embryos were cryopreserved by open pulled straw (OPS) vitrification using either 33% EG, 33% DMSO or a mixture of 16.5% EG + 16.5% DMSO. Re-expansion and hatching rates in the EG + DMSO group (79.16% and 52.74%, respectively) were higher than those in the EG group (64.28% and 30.02%, respectively), whereas the outcomes for the DMSO group were the lowest (45.18% and 8.6%, respectively). In Experiment 3, embryos were cryopreserved by OPS vitrification using either 40% EG, 40% DMSO or a mixture of 20% EG + 20% DMSO. Re-expansion and hatching rates were highest in the EG group than in the EG + DMSO and DMSO groups (92.16% vs 76.30% and 55.84% re-expansion, respectively; and 65.78% vs 45.55% and 14.46% hatching, respectively). In conclusion, OPS vitrification was found to be more efficient for cryopreservation of in vitro-developed sheep embryos than traditional freezing.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.affiliation: Department of Bio-Science & Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Rajasthan-304 022, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Naykoo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal production, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yaqoob
authors.affiliation: IRIS Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Qld 4702, Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vajta
authors.affiliation: Mountain Research Centre for Sheep and Goat, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Teaching Veterinary Clinical Services Complex, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fazili
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Ganai
authors.affiliation: Division of Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Shuhama, Srinagar, 190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000187:drug effects*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep; D058989:Vitrification
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents