Sex-sorting of spermatozoa affects developmental competence of in vitro fertilized oocytes in a bull-dependent manner.
The aim of the present study was to clarify if flow-cytometric sex-sorting of bovine sperm affected in vitro blastocyst production in different bulls, either in terms of its ability to fertilize the oocyte or by interfering with post-fertilization embryo development. We performed in vitro fertilization (IVF) using both commercially available frozen-thawed X-sorted and non-sorted sperm of 4 Holstein bulls at 3 concentrations (1 × 106, 2 × 106, and 5 × 106sperm/ml). When fertilization rates were compared, a variation in fertilization rates among different sperm concentrations was detected in 2 bulls, with similar results for X-sorted and non-sorted sperm. However, we found no evidence that the fertilization rates were affected by the sorting process. To investigate effects on embryo development, we determined the optimum sperm concentration for IVF in each bull, which resulted in similar fertilization rates among bulls. We next performed IVF using both X-sorted and non-sorted sperm of the 4 bulls at their optimum sperm concentration and compared in vitro embryo development. Cleavage rates with X-sorted sperm were similar to their non-sorted counterparts. However, significantly reduced blastocyst development was associated with the use of X-sorted sperm in one bull, whereas in the other three bulls, blastocyst development after IVF with X-sorted and non-sorted sperm was similar. In conclusion, in our system, X-sorting affects in vitro blastocyst production by reducing the developmental competence of fertilized oocytes rather than affecting the fertilization ability of the sperm. However, the occurrence of this phenomenon varies among bulls.
Animal Breeding and Reproduction Research Division, NARO Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science, Ibaraki 305-0901, Japan.
Yasushi
Y
Inaba
Reika
R
Abe
Masaya
M
Geshi
Satoko
S
Matoba
Takashi
T
Nagai
Tamás
T
Somfai
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology; D002417:Cattle; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002875:Chromosomes / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum / Q000166:cytology; D015925:Cryopreservation; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques; D047108:Embryonic Development; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000662:veterinary; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D008297:Male; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism; D012743:Sex Preselection / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*