Abstract
Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) play important roles in bovine oocyte maturation. This study tested the effect of FSH and LH on bovine ZP gene expression during oocyte maturation in vitro with RNase protection assay. These gonadotropins had no effect on ZP gene expression in bovine oocytes cultured for 5 or 15 hours, but significant suppression of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVB) and metaphase II (MII) generation were observed with FSH. These data suggest that neither FSH nor LH has a significant effect on ZP gene expression in bovine oocytes. And the ZP gene expression could be independent of the mechanism of oocyte nuclear maturation in cattle.
