Nuclear Transfer in Cattle:Effect of Linoleic Acid-Albumin on Freezing Sensitivity of Enucleated Oocytes

Abstract

The effect of linoleic acid−albumin(LAA)supplementation to the media for IVM, enucleation, and activation on the developmental potential of bovine embryos produced by nuclear transfer(NT)into frozen−thawed cytoplasts was investigated.Blastomeres derived from morulae was placed in the perivitelline space of frozen−thawed cytoplasts, which were then fused by a DC pulse.The proportion of fused embryos was similar between groups with and without LAA(87 vs.90%).The proportion of development to blastocysts of NT embryos derived from the media with LAA(14%)was higher than that without LAA(4%), indicating that LAA treatment of bovine oocytes during IVM, enucleation and activation can improve the ability of such cytoplasts after freezing and thawing to develop into blastocysts after NT.