scholarly journals 140 EXPRESSION OF LEPTIN LIGAND AND RECEPTOR AND EFFECT OF EXOGENOUS LEPTIN SUPPLEMENTATION ON IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF PORCINE IN VITRO FERTILIZED AND SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER EMBRYOS

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
H.S. Kim ◽  
G.S. Lee ◽  
J.H. Kim ◽  
S.K. Kang ◽  
B.C. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Differential Staining ◽  
Staining Procedure ◽  
Receptor Proteins ◽  
Arcsine Transformation

The present study investigated the expression of ligand and receptor for leptin, and the effect of leptin supplementation on preimplantation development of porcine in vitro-fertilized (IVF) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. The IVF embryos were produced using frozen boar semen and SCNT embryos were obtained by nuclear transfer of fetal fibroblasts into enucleated oocytes. In Exp. 1, in vitro-matured porcine oocytes and embryos in 2-, 4-, and 8-cell as well as morula and blastocyst stages derived from IVF or SCNT were immunostained for leptin ligand and receptor with their specific antibodies. The expression of leptin ligand and receptor proteins was detected in oocytes and all stages of IVF and SCNT embryos. The IVF (Exp. 2; n = 635, 630, 633, 635, respectively) or SCNT oocytes (Exp. 3; n = 256, 258, 251, 258, respectively) were cultured in modified North Carolina State University (mNCSU)-23 medium supplemented with various concentrations (1, 10, 100, or 1000 ng/mL) of leptin. For the control group, IVF (n = 635) or SCNT embryos (n = 249) were cultured without leptin supplementation (0 ng/mL leptin). Embryo development and cell number in blatoscysts after differential staining according to a modified staining procedure (Thouas et al. 2000 Reprod. Biomed. Online 3, 25–29) were evaluated. The IVF or SCNT embryos were randomly distributed, and experiments were replicated at least 11 times. The differences in embryo development among experimental groups were analyzed using one-way ANOVA after arcsine transformation (without arcsine transformation for cell number of blastocysts) to maintain homogeneity of variance. Post hoc analyses to identify between-group differences were performed using the LSD test. In SCNT embryos, the cleavage rate was not different in leptin-treated groups (73.8, 77.5, 75.7, or 78.7%, respectively) compared to the control (76.3%). The rate of blastocyst formation (at 166 h after the day of injection of donor cells) in SCNT embryos was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in 1000 ng/mL leptin-supplemented group (20.2%) compared with the control (12.9%) and 1 ng/mL leptin-supplemented (12.5%) groups. Supplementing mNCSU-23 with 1000 ng/mL leptin also significantly increased (P < 0.05) the number of total cells (54.6) and trophectoderm (TE) cells (39.1) in SCNT blastocysts (n = >25) compared with the control [45.1 (total cells) and 31.6 (TE cells)] and 10 ng/mL leptin-supplemented group [44.4 (total cells) and 31.7 (TE cells)]. In IVF embryos, leptin supplementation did not affect pre-implantation embryo development and cell number in blastocysts. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated the expression of leptin ligand and receptor proteins in porcine in vitro matured oocytes, IVF and SCNT embryos, and the embryotropic role of leptin in the SCNT embryo development. This study was supported by the Advanced Backbone IT Technology Development (IMT 2000-C1-1) and the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology (M10310060000-03B4606-00000).

185 DEVELOPMENT CAPACITY OF PRE- AND POSTPUBERTAL PIG OOCYTES EVALUATED BY SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER AND PARTHENOGENETIC ACTIVATION

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Pedersen ◽  
R. Li ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
P. Løvendahl ◽  
P. Holm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Parthenogenetic Activation ◽  
Development Capacity ◽  
Developmental Capacity

Most of the porcine oocytes used for in vitro studies are collected from gilts. Our aims were to study development capacity of gilt v. sow oocytes (pre- and postpubertal respectively) using 2 techniques illustrating development competence [parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)], and to describe a simple method to select the most competent oocytes. Inside-ZP diameter of in vitro-matured gilt oocytes was measured (µm; small ≤110; medium >110; large ≥120). Gilt and sow oocytes were morphologically grouped as good (even cytoplasm, smooth cell membrane, visible perivitelline space) or bad before used for PA (good and bad) or SCNT (good). The PA and SCNT were performed as before with minor modifications (Cryobiol. 64, 60; Cell. Reprogr. 13, 521) before culture for 6 days in a standard or timelapse incubator. Rates of cleavage (CL%, Day 2), blastocyst (BL%, Day 6), and blastocyst cell number (Hoechst 33342) were recorded. For PA embryos in a timelapse incubator (26 oocytes/group; 2 replicates), the first appearance of 2-cell stage was recorded. Between groups, CL% and BL% were analysed by chi-square and cell number by t-test. Results are presented in the table for the development of good oocytes after PA. The results show a low CL% of small-gilts compared with the other groups. The BL% increased with gilt-oocyte-diameter; however, sow oocytes reached the highest BL%. Total cell number was higher in sow than in gilt blastocysts. The SCNT experiments showed no differences in CL% (90–96) and blastocyst cell number (51–59) between groups. The BL% was higher in medium gilts and sows (41; 45) compared with large gilts (21). The BL% of bad oocytes was 1% from all 4 groups (176 oocytes, 25 replicates). Time interval for appearance of 2-cell stage for embryos developing into blastocysts showed no differences between groups (19–20 h). Within groups, this time interval showed a larger standard deviation for embryos not developing v. embryos developing into blastocysts. It is concluded that (a) sow oocytes have higher developmental capacity compared to gilts, (b) small gilt oocytes are not developmentally competent, (c) measurement of inside-ZP diameter, combined with morphological selection, is useful to remove non-competent oocytes. Further studies are needed to dissect the developmental capacity of medium and large gilt oocytes. Also, further timelapse studies may reveal a time interval in which the first cleavage of embryos with high developmental capacity takes place. Table 1.Rates of cleavage (CL%), blastocyst (BL%), and total no. of cells (mean ± SEM) in blastocysts of PA embryos from gilts and sows1

59 HIGHER BLASTOCYST FORMATION OF SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER EMBRYOS DOES NOT GUARANTEE BETTER PREGNANCY IN PIG

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
E. Lee ◽  
K. Song ◽  
Y. Jeong ◽  
S. Hyun
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Skin Fibroblasts ◽  
Miniature Pig ◽  
Donor Cells ◽  
Fetal Fibroblasts

Generally, blastocyst (BL) formation and embryo cell number are used as main parameters to evaluate the viability and quality of in vitro-produced somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos. We investigated whether in vitro development of SCNT pig embryos correlates with in vivo viability after transfer to surrogates. For SCNT, cumulus–oocyte complexes (COCs) were matured in TCM-199 supplemented with follicular fluid, hormones, EGF, cysteine, and insulin for the first 22 h and in a hormone-free medium for 18 h. Three sources of pig skin cells were used as nuclear donor: (1) skin fibroblasts of a cloned piglet that were produced by SCNT of fetal fibroblasts from a Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc F1 hybrid (LYD), (2) skin fibroblasts of a miniature pig having the human decay accelerating factor gene (hDAF-MP), and (3) skin fibroblasts of a miniature pig with a different strain (MP). MII oocytes were enucleated, subjected to nuclear transfer from a donor cell, electrically fused, and activated 1 h after fusion. SCNT embryos were cultured in a modified NCSU-23 (Park Y et al. 2005 Zygote 13, 269–275) for 6 days or surgically transferred (110–150 fused embryos) into the oviduct of a surrogate that showed standing estrus on the same day as SCNT. Embryos were examined for cleavage and BL formation on Days 2 and 6, respectively (Day 0 = the day of SCNT). BLs were examined for their cell number after staining with Hoechst 33342. Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasound 30 and 60 days after embryo transfer. Embryo cleavage was not affected by donor cells (82, 81, and 72% for LYD, hDAF-MP, and MP, respectively), but BL formation was higher (P &lt; 0.05) in hDAF-MP (16%) than in LYD (9%) and MP (6%). MP showed higher (P &lt; 0.05) BL cell number (46 cells/BL) than hDAF-MP (34 cells) but did not show a difference from LYD (37 cells). LYD and MP showed higher pregnancy rates (Table 1) on Days 30 and 60, even though they showed lower BL formation in vitro. Due to a relatively small number of embryo transfers through a limited period, we could not exclude any possible effects by seasonal or operational differences. These results indicated that pregnancy did not correlate with in vitro BL formation of SCNT pig embryos but rather were affected by the source of donor cells. Table 1.In vivo development of somatic cell nuclear transfer pig embryos derived from different sources of donor cells This work was supported by the Research Project on the Production of Bio-organs (No. 200506020601), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea.

Selection of pre- versus postpubertal pig oocytes for parthenogenetic activation and somatic cell nuclear transfer

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 544 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Pedersen ◽  
Y. Liu ◽  
R. Li ◽  
S. Purup ◽  
P. Løvendahl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
In Vitro Production ◽  
Oocyte Growth ◽  
Parthenogenetic Activation ◽  
Selection Of

Pig oocytes have been used increasingly for in vitro production techniques in recent years. The slaughterhouse-derived oocytes that are often used are mostly of prepubertal origin. The aims of the present study were to compare the developmental competence between pre- and postpubertal pig oocytes, and to develop a simple and practical method for the selection of prepubertal pig oocytes for parthenogenetic activation (PA) and somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) based on oocyte morphology after IVM and oocyte inside zona pellucida (ZP) diameter (‘small’ ≤110 µm; ‘medium’ >110 µm; ‘large’ ≥120 µm). Meiotic competence and blastocyst rates after PA and SCNT of prepubertal oocytes increased with oocyte size, with the large prepubertal oocytes reaching a level similar to postpubertal oocytes after SCNT. Blastocyst cell number was not related to oocyte inside ZP diameter and oocyte donor to the same extent as blastocyst rate. Very low blastocyst rates were obtained after PA of morphologically bad pre- and postpubertal oocytes. In conclusion, measurement of inside ZP diameter combined with morphological selection is useful to remove incompetent oocytes. Further studies are needed to clarify the relative importance of cytoplasmic volume and stage in oocyte growth phase.

Effect of glycosaminoglycans on the preimplantation development of embryos derived from in vitro fertilization and somatic cell nuclear transfer

2003 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goo Jang ◽  
Byeong Chun Lee ◽  
Sung Keun Kang ◽  
Woo Suk Hwang
Keyword(s):  
Hyaluronic Acid ◽  
In Vitro Fertilization ◽  
Chondroitin Sulfate ◽  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Vitro Fertilization

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) added to the culture medium on the developmental competence of bovine embryos derived from in vitro fertilization (IVF) and from somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). In vitro-matured oocytes were either inseminated with 1 × 106 spermatozoa mL−1 or enucleated and reconstructed with bovine adult ear fibroblasts by SCNT. The embryos were then cultured in modified synthetic oviduct fluid (mSOF) containing 8 mg mL−1 bovine serum albumin (BSA) (control mSOF) or control mSOF supplemented with various GAGs (hyaluronic acid, heparin or chondroitin sulfate) in a dose-dependent manner (0.1, 0.5 or 1.0 mg mL−1). Developmental competence was evaluated by monitoring the numbers of 2-cell embryos, 8–16-cell embryos and blastocysts. The mean cell number of flattened blastocysts stained with 5 μ M bisbenzimide on Day 8 was counted. The percentage of blastocyst formation (IVF and SCNT embryos) from cleaved embryos was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in control mSOF supplemented with 0.5 mg mL−1 hyaluronic acid (45% and 47%), heparin (40% and 47%) or chondroitin sulfate (38% and 44%) compared with control mSOF (30–31% and 30–33%). When compared with the efficacy of 0.5 mg mL−1 GAGs, no significant differences were observed in the developmental competence of both IVF and SCNT embryos. Supplementing control mSOF with 0.5 mg mL−1 GAGs had no effect on the cell number of IVF embryos. In contrast, supplementing 0.5 mg mL−1 of hyaluronic acid, heparin or chondroitin sulfate to control mSOF significantly (P < 0.05) increased the numbers of total cells (93–98 v. 88 cells) and trophectoderm (TE) cells (64–66 v. 55 cells), and decreased the inner cell mass (ICM) to TE cell ratio (48.2–49.8 v. 61.3) in SCNT blastocysts compared with embryos in control mSOF. In conclusion, supplementation of culture media with GAGs may improve the development of bovine IVM–IVF and SCNT embryos to the blastocyst stage. The GAGs increased the quality of blastocysts by increasing total cell numbers in the SCNT embryos.

62 DIFFERENT EFFECT OF TRICHOSTATIN A ON IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF PORCINE TRANSGENIC SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER AND PARTHENOGENETICALLY ACTIVATED EMBRYOS

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. X. Wei ◽  
K. Zhang ◽  
Y. F. Ma ◽  
Y. Li ◽  
Q. Y. Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Trichostatin A ◽  
Polar Body ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Cell Numbers ◽  
First Polar Body ◽  
Electrical Fusion

Accumulating evidence suggests that trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, can increase the success rate of somatic cloning. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of 50 nm TSA treatment on the development of porcine somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and parthenogenically activated (PA) embryos. Cumulus-oocyte complexes were matured in vitro. The oocytes with the first polar body (PB1) were chosen for SCNT, and the rest with PB1 or good morphology were selected for PA by a single 100-μs direct current pulse of 1.6 kV cm–1, the same parameter as for electrical fusion. GFP transgenic fetal fibroblast cells were used as nuclear donors. Data were analyzed using SPSS (13.0; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) with one-way ANOVA. In Experiment 1, immediately after electrical fusion and activation, the reconstructed embryos were randomly cultured in porcine zygote medium 3 (PZM3) with 10 μg mL–1 cytochalasin B (CB) and 10 μg mL–1 cycloheximide (CHX), with either 0 nm (control) or 50 nm TSA for the first 4 h, before being cultured for another 20 h in PZM3 without CB and CHX. After being washed, the embryos were cultured in PZM3 medium without TSA until Day 6 at 39.0°C, 5% CO2, 5%O2, 90% N2, and 100% humidity. The same experimental design was used for PA embryos concurrently. The results showed that there were no significant differences in blastocyst rates for SCNT or PA between control and TSA groups (23.0 ± 6.1% v. 27.9 ± 6.3%; 21.0 ± 1.0% v. 17.5 ± 3.2%, respectively). Neither were there differences in the cell numbers of blastocysts (38.3 ± 5.7 v. 32.2 ± 3.4; 42.2 ± 3.5 v. 39.0 ± 1.9, respectively). In Experiment 2, TSA treatment was prolonged to either 36 or 40 h. The blastocyst rates of SCNT were increased (7.3 ± 1.2% (0 h), 13.3 ± 2.6% (36 h), and 20.0 ± 3.3% (40 h)), whereas those of PA were decreased (46.7 ± 5.0% (0 h), 27.7 ± 6.5% (36 h), and 30.8 ± 6.3% (40 h)). The cell numbers of blastocysts from either SCNT or PA were also decreased (SCNT: 47.5 ± 3.8, 37.5 ± 2.0, and 37.1 ± 3.3; PA: 46.1 ± 1.9, 37.5 ± 1.9, and 39.3 ± 2.2; P < 0.05). In Experiment 3, the cell number and the apoptotic index of Day 5, 6, and 7 PA blastocysts treated with 0 or 50 nm TSA were determined by the terminal deoxynucleotide-mediated nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay (Table 1). The results suggested that TSA treatment probably delayed embryo development, which may be one of the reasons for the lower cell numbers in the TSA-treated group. Table 1. Cell apoptosis of PA blastocyst by TUNEL

27 SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER CLONING AND EMBRYO AGGREGATION IN PIGS

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
C. P. Buemo ◽  
A. Gambini ◽  
I. Hiriart ◽  
D. Salamone
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Culture ◽  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Electric Pulse ◽  
Blastocyst Stage ◽  
Control Group

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) derived blastocysts have lower cell number than IVF-derived blastocysts and their in vivo counterparts. The aim of this study was to improve the blastocyst rates and quality of SCNT blastocysts by the aggregation of genetically identical free zona pellucida (ZP) porcine clones. Cumulus–oocyte complexes were recovered from slaughterhouse ovaries by follicular aspiration. Maturation was performed in TCM for 42 to 48 h at 39°C and 5% CO2. After denudation by treatment with hyaluronidase, mature oocytes were stripped of the ZP using a protease and then enucleated by micromanipulation; staining was performed with Hoechst 33342 to observe metaphase II. Ooplasms were placed in phytohemagglutinin to permit different membranes to adhere between each other; the ooplasm membrane was adhered to a porcine fetal fibroblast from an in vitro culture. Adhered membranes of the donor cell nucleus and enucleated oocyte cytoplasm were electrofused through the use of an electric pulse (80 V for 30 μs). All reconstituted embryos (RE) were electrically activated using an electroporator in activation medium (0.3 M mannitol, 1.0 mM CaCl2, 0.1 mM MgCl2, and 0.01% PVA) by a DC pulse of 1.2 kV cm–1 for 80 μs. Then, the oocytes were incubated in 2 mM 6-DMAP for 3 h. In vitro culture of free ZP embryos was achieved in a system of well of wells in 100 μL of medium, placing 3 activated oocytes per microwell (aggregation embryo), whereas the control group was cultivated with equal drops without microwells. Embryos were cultivated at 39°C in 5% O2, 5% CO2 for 7 days in SOF medium with a supplement of 10% fetal bovine serum on the fifth day. The RE were placed in microwells. Two experimental groups were used, control group (not added 1X) and 3 RE per microwell (3X). At Day 7, resulting blastocysts were classified according to their morphology and diameter to determine their quality and evaluate if the embryo aggregation improves it. Results demonstrated that aggregation improves in vitro embryo development rates until blastocyst stage and indicated that blastocysts rates calculated over total number of oocytes do not differ between groups (Table 1). Embryo aggregation improves cleavage per oocyte and cleavage per microwell rates, presenting statistical significant differences and increasing the probabilities of higher embryo development generation until the blastocyst stage with better quality and higher diameter. Table 1.Somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning and embryo aggregation

scholarly journals Embryo development after successful somatic cell nuclear transfer to in vitro matured human germinal vesicle oocytes

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1982-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Heindryckx ◽  
P. De Sutter ◽  
J. Gerris ◽  
M. Dhont ◽  
J. Van der Elst
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Germinal Vesicle

scholarly journals Development of Intergeneric Canine Embryo Using Bovine and Porcine Oocyte as Cytoplasm Recipient

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 801
Author(s):  
Yuda Heru Fibrianto
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Cell Cloning ◽  
Embryo Production ◽  
Porcine Oocyte ◽  
Development In Vitro

This study wa conducted to increase the efficiency of canine embryo production by intergeneric somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) technology. The effect of oocyte recipient for development of intergeneric canine somatic cell cloning embryos were examined. Bovine and porcine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from slaughterhouse ovaries and matured in TCM-199 medium depend on species. Adult dog fibroblasts collected from 3.5 years old Afghandhound dog, and cell between passage 1 and passage 10 used for intergeneric somatic cell cloning using bovine and porcin oocytes as oocyte cytolplasm donor. The result showed that oocytes from bovine and porcine can de-differentiated canine nucleus and no different between bovine and porcine oocyte in fusion and embryo development in vitro. Canine intergeneric cloned embryos developed to morula stages in vitro.

scholarly journals 64 OOPLASMIC TRANSFER AFTER INTERSPECIES NUCLEAR TRANSFER: PRESENCE OF FOREIGN MITOCHONDRIA, PATTERN OF MIGRATION, AND EFFECT ON EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT

2005 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 182 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sansinena ◽  
J. Lynn ◽  
R. Denniston ◽  
R. Godke
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Embryo Development ◽  
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Nuclear Transfer ◽  
Molecular Probes ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Chi Square Analysis ◽  
Donor Oocytes ◽  
Developmental Block

Interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) using the bovine cytoplast as universal recipient has potential applications in the conservation of exotic species. However, an in vitro developmental block has been observed using this approach. It has been suggested that mitochondrial mismatch between donor cell and recipient oocyte could be a cause for the embryonic developmental arrest. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of mixed mitochondrial populations (heteroplasmy) on early development of cloned embryos. In Experiment 1, we examined the effect of combining the technique of ooplasmic transfer (OT) with somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in the bovine model. In addition, presence and pattern of migration of foreign mitochondria after OT were examined by MitoTracker® (Molecular Probes, Inc., Eugene, OR, USA) staining. In Experiment 2, we examined the effect of transferring caprine ooplasm into bovine enucleated oocytes (iOT) used as recipients for goat iSCNT. Ooplasm from donor oocytes was aspirated until the oolema was ruptured and filled about 200 μm of the micropipette. Aspirated ooplasm was injected into recipient oocyte; the oolema of the recipient oocyte was also ruptured by partial aspiration into the micropipette to ensure mixing. Mean cleavage rates and embryo development were compared by chi-square analysis. Percentages (except for parthenogenic controls) were calculated from number of fused couplets. In Experiment 1, there was no significant effect of the sequence of events (OT-SCNT or SCNT-OT) on the number of fused, cleaved, blastocyst (BLST), or hatched blastocyst (HCHD) embryos (Table 1). MitoTracker Green FM staining of donor oocytes used for OT revealed foreign mitochondria were introduced by the procedure. Their pattern of distribution remained in a distinct cluster after 12, 74 and 144 h of in vitro culture. However, when goat ooplasm was injected into bovine enucleated oocytes used for iSCNT, there was a significant reduction in fusion (52 vs. 82%) and cleavage rates (55 vs. 78%) (P < 0.05). In addition, the procedure of iOT prior to iSCNT was not effective in overcoming the 8- to 16-cell in vitro developmental block and only parthenogenic cow and goat controls reached blastocyst (36 and 32%) and hatched blastocyst (25 and 12%) stages, respectively (Table 1). This study demonstrates that foreign mitochondria are introduced at the time of OT and these mitochondria remain in a cluster without relocation after a few mitotic divisions. Although the bovine cytoplast appears capable of supporting mitotic divisions after iOT-iSCNT, heteroplasmy or mitochondrial incompatibilities may affect nuclear-ooplasmic events occurring at genomic activation. To our knowledge, this is the first scientific report of iOT used in combination with iSCNT in an attempt to overcome the in vitro developmental block. Further research is needed to determine characteristics of foreign mitochondrial dynamics as well as replication of foreign mitochondria introduced into NT embryos. Table 1. Intraspecies (cow) and interspecies (goat-cow) ooplasmic transfer and nuclear transfer

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