Efficacy of fish embryo vitrification protocols in terms of embryo morphology - a systematic review.
BACKGROUND
Embryo cryopreservation has been used for the creation of genetic banks with diploid resources, and among different techniques, vitrification is considered as the most promising method.


OBJECTIVE
The goal is to evaluate the major aspects of the existing vitrification techniques and to evaluate their efficacy in terms of embryo morphology.


METHODS
Electronic searches in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases were performed with the keyword combination: fish, embryo and vitrification. Pubmed retrieved 26 articles and Science Direct resulted in 464 articles. For this review, only studies that developed and tested vitrification protocols in fish embryos were included. Research regarding cryoprotectant toxicity and permeability were excluded. There were no restrictions on publication date or language. With these criteria, a total of ten articles were evaluated.


RESULTS
In these articles, the major aspects to be considered for the development of new vitrification protocols are: the cryoprotectants' toxicity, the embryos' development stage, the exposure to and the permeability of the cryoprotectants, vitrification devices and vitrification-warning cycle.


CONCLUSIONS
The survival were limited, however, the preservation of embryonic morphology after thawing indicates the possibility of preserving fish embryos via the vitrification technique.
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil. alineferreirascarvalho@gmail.com.
A F
AF
Souza de Carvalho
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
S E
SE
Ramos
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
T S
TS
Gonzaga de Carvalho
Departament of Microbiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Y C
YC
Pomarico de Souza
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
M G
MG
Zangeronimo
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
L J
LJ
Pereira
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
L D
LD
Solis Murgas
D000818:Animals; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000662:veterinary*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D005399:Fishes / Q000196:embryology*; D058989:Vitrification
D003451:Cryoprotective Agents