Status of development and areas of employment of in vitro production of cattle embryos
Lucas-Hahn, A.; Eckert, J.
Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 103(8-9): 306-311
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0341-6593 PMID: 9011509 Document Number: 467988
Efficient methods for the collection of oocytes derived from slaughterhouse ovaries and living animals are available. Maturation, fertilization and culture of bovine oocytes/embryos can be performed in vitro with high success rates. The in vitro culture from the fertilized oocyte up to the blastocyst stage currently is the most limiting step of the whole procedure. The establishment of a completely defined culture system would allow the identification of the physiological requirements for preimplantation embryo development and the stepwise improvement of the in vitro production system. The physiological integrity of in vitro produced embryos compared to their in vivo counterparts can be assessed either by molecular biological techniques or in metabolism studies. The in vitro production of bovine embryos with its variety of areas of applications is a useful tool in maintenance and improvement of competitiveness of future cattle breeding.