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Effects of elevated temperature in vivo on the maturational and developmental competence of porcine germinal vesicle stage oocytes

Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119074

¹ Correspondence: Embryonics Int., 6A Napter Rd., No. 01-38, Singapore 258500 (phone: +65-6479-7267; fax: +65-6479-6536; e-mail: scng{at}embryonics.biz).

Postslaughter processing of sow carcasses results in the ovaries being exposed to temperatures of 41.3 to 42.1°C within a 30-min time frame. This study investigated whether the maturational and developmental competence of the recovered germinal vesicle stage oocytes could be compromised by post-slaughter processing. The results showed that the in vitro maturation rates of GV stage oocytes exposed to elevated temperature did not significantly differ from the corresponding controls (74.1 vs. 75.8%). Immunocytochemical staining revealed that elevated temperature did not adversely affect metaphase II spindle formation but resulted in extensive disruption of oocyte cytoskeletal organization. This, in turn, had a detrimental effect on parthenogenetic development compared with the corresponding nonheat-treated controls (cleavage rate = 27.7 vs. 65.3%, P < 0.01; blastulation rate = 6.7 vs. 20.6%, P < 0.01). Hence, transient exposure to elevated temperature during slaughter did not have any detrimental effects on nuclear maturation per se, but it did result in extensive cytoskeletal damage, which in turn drastically decreased the developmental competence.

Key Words: Development • In Vitro Maturation • Meiosis • Porcine • Temperature

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J Ye, J Coleman, M G Hunter, J Craigon, K H S Campbell, and M R Luck Physiological temperature variants and culture media modify meiotic progression and developmental potential of pig oocytes in vitro Reproduction, May 1, 2007; 133(5): 877 - 886. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]