N in Bovine Embryos 1

This study was conducted to develop a method for transplanting nuclei in bovine embryosand to test the development of several stages of donor nuclei transplanted to enucleated pronuclear recipient embryos. Pronuclear embryos were centrifuged to reveal nuclei. Nuclei were removed without penetrating the plasraa membrane as membrane-bound karyoplasts, and were inserted into enucteated zygotes by electrically induced ceil fusion. The highest rate of fusion (79%) occurred in Zimmerman Cell Fusion medium at 100 V for 20 to 40 Its with the fusion membranes oriented parallel to the electrodes. The effect of nuclear transplantation on development was tested in pronuclear embryos in which nuclei were removed and reinserted and the embryos were then transferred to sheep oviducts for 5 d. Of the intact nuclear transplant embryos recovered, 5/29 (17%) developed to morulae or blastocysts compared with 11/30 (37%) of the non-manipulated embryos. Two nuclear transplant embryos were transferred to a recipient cow, and both developed to normal offspring. When nuclei from two-, four-, or eight-cell embryos were transplanted to pronuclear recipient embryos, no development was observed. (