Effect of partial replacement of fetal calf serum in decreasing of intracytoplasmic lipid concentration in bovine embryos produced in vitro

• Grant number: 12/22672-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: May 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Raysildo Barbosa Lôbo
• Grantee: Carolina Gennari Verruma
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The junction between oocyte and sperm allows the birth of a new organism. This process, known as fertilization, varies from an organism to another, however, some steps are conserved. The development of embryos in mammals occurs within the feminine reproductive system, allowing nutrition and protection with all the components needed to the embryo. The developmental in vitro is complicated and dangerous because until today it is impossible to find the components that mimic the support of nutrients provided by the reproductive system. The in vitro embryo production (IVP) tries to simulate the environmental conditions and nutrition necessary for the embryo to be viable. However, some components of fetal calf serum (FCS) added in the in vitro maturation (IVM) and in vitro culture (IVC) are unknown and assume that they increase the concentration of the embryo lipids, making them less resistant to the cryopreservation process. Thus, the project aims to study the influence of partial replacement of the fetal calf serum (FCS) by bovine serum albumin (BSA FrV/FAF), that don't have fat acids (BSA FAF), to analyze their influence in the in vitro production (IVP) of embryos and quantification of the percentage of lipids, aimed at producing embryos with greater cryotolerance. (AU)