title: Identification of bovine embryos cultured in groups by attachment of barcodes to the zona pellucida.
abstract: The low number of oocytes collected from unstimulated donors by ovum pick-up means that embryos produced from each individual female have to be cultured individually or in very small groups. However, it has been demonstrated that single-embryo culture is less efficient than embryo culture in groups. To overcome this limitation, we developed a direct embryo-tagging system, which allows the collective culture of embryos from different origins whilst preserving their pedigree. Presumptive bovine zygotes were tagged with eight wheat-germ agglutinin biofunctionalised polysilicon barcodes attached to the outer surface of the zona pellucida (ZP). Four different barcodes were used to encode groups of 20-25 embryos, which were then cultured in the same drop. Cleavage, Day-7 and Day-8 blastocysts and barcode retention rates were assessed. In addition, Day-7 blastocysts were vitrified and warmed. Barcode attachment to the ZP of bovine embryos affected neither in vitro embryo development nor post-warming survival of the tagged embryos. All the embryos maintained barcodes attached until Day 8 of culture (3.63±0.37 barcodes per embryo) and could be identified. In conclusion, identification of embryos by barcodes attached to the ZP is feasible and will allow the culture of embryos from different donors in the same drop.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Cellular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Sergi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Novo
authors.affiliation: Departament de Medicina i Cirugia Animal, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Roser
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morató
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, E-08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Oriol
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Penon
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona IMB-CNM (CSIC), Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duran
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Cellular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barrios
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Cellular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nogués
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona IMB-CNM (CSIC), Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: José Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Plaza
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, E-08028, Spain.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez-García
authors.affiliation: Departament de Medicina i Cirugia Animal, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mogas
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Cellular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, E-08193, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ibáñez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D015925:Cryopreservation; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D058989:Vitrification; D015044:Zona Pellucida