The follicular system: a new protocol for oocyte in vitro maturation in cattle

• Grant number: 17/07588-4
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2017
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: José Buratini Junior
• Grantee: José Buratini Junior
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In vitro production of bovine embryos (IVP) has been applied to increase fertility and enhance genetic improvement in beef and dairy herds, despite its recognized low efficiency. In vitro maturation (IVM) is considered to be the main technical bottleneck of IVP in cattle. Current IVM protocols do not reflect the physiological conditions and determine a mismatch between oocyte nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. Oocytes subjected to IVM are derived from follicles at different developmental stages and are heterogeneous with regard to degree of chromatin condensation and stocks of transcripts important for early embryo development. This project aims to develop a new IVM system, the Follicular System, which includes a strategy to harvest a homogeneous population of oocytes, as well as a sequential culture system adjusted to the oocyte developmental stage, mimicking the intrafollicular environment before (pre-IVM phase) and after ovulation (IVM phase). The central hypothesis of this project is that the Follicular System can increase the number and quality of bovine embryos produced in vitro, in comparison with conventional protocols with just one culture step and supra-physiological concentrations of FSH. The experiments proposed herein aim to validate a protocol for the recovery of homogeneous oocytes from Nelore and Holstein donors, as well as to assess the impact of the Follicular System on embryo in vitro production from Holstein cows. The impact of the Follicular System on IVP will be assessed through IVP, freezability and conception rates. I addition, aiming to shed light onto the mechanisms by which the Follicular System may benefit developmental competence, we will assess the effects of the Follicular System on gene expression patterns of cumulus cells. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SILVA SOARES, ANA CAROLINE; SAKODA, JHESSICA NAOMI; GAMA, ISABELA LIMA; BAYEUX, BERNARDO MARCOZZI; LODDE, VALENTINA; LUCIANO, ALBERTO MARIA; BURATINI, JOSE. Characterization and control of oocyte large-scale chromatin configuration in different cattle breeds. Theriogenology, v. 141, p. 146-152, JAN 1 2020. (17/07588-4, 16/21671-9)

SILVA SOARES, ANA CAROLINE; GOMES MARQUES, KELLY NADER; MARTIGNONI BRAGANCA, LUIZ GUSTAVO; LODDE, VALENTINA; LUCIANO, ALBERTO MARIA; BURATINI, JOSE. Synchronization of germinal vesicle maturity improves efficacy of in vitro embryo production in Holstein cows. Theriogenology, v. 154, p. 53-58, SEP 15 2020. (17/07588-4, 16/21671-9)