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β-Mercaptoethanol in culture medium improves cryotolerance of in vitro-produced bovine embryos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2022

Karine de Mattos ,
Camilo Andrés Pena-Bello Open the ORCID record for Camilo Andrés Pena-Bello [Opens in a new window] ,
Karine Campagnolo ,
Gabriella Borba de Oliveira ,
Elvis Ticiani ,
César Augusto Pinzón-Osorio ,
Ana Laura da Silva Feijó ,
Higor da Silva Ferreira ,
José Luiz Rodrigues  and
Marcelo Bertolini
...Show all authors
Karine de Mattos
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Camilo Andrés Pena-Bello
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Karine Campagnolo
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Gabriella Borba de Oliveira
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Elvis Ticiani
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
César Augusto Pinzón-Osorio
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Ana Laura da Silva Feijó
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Higor da Silva Ferreira
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
José Luiz Rodrigues
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Marcelo Bertolini
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
Alceu Mezzallira
Affiliation:
Center of Agroveterinarian Sciences, Santa Catarina State University, Lages, SC, Brazil
Eduardo de Souza Ribeiro*
Affiliation:
Center of Agroveterinarian Sciences, Santa Catarina State University, Lages, SC, Brazil
*
Author for correspondence: Eduardo de Souza Ribeiro. Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, CanadaN1G 2W1. E-mail: eribeiro@uoguelph.ca
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Summary

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of adding β-mercaptoethanol (βME) to culture medium of bovine in vitro-produced (IVP) embryos prior to or after vitrification on embryo development and cryotolerance. In Experiment I, Day-7 IVP blastocysts were vitrified and, after warming, cultured in medium containing 0, 50 or 100 μM βME for 72 h. Embryos cultured in 100 μM βME attained higher hatching rates (66.7%) than those culture in 0 (47.7%) and 50 (52.4%) μM βME. In Experiment II, IVP embryos were in vitro-cultured (IVC) to the blastocyst stage in 0 (control) or 100 μM βME, followed by vitrification. After warming, embryos were cultured for 72 h (post-warming culture, PWC) in 0 (control) or 100 μM βME, in a 2 × 2 factorial design: (i) CTRL–CTRL, control IVC and control PWC; (ii) CTRL–βME, control IVC and βME-supplemented PWC; (iii) βME–CTRL, βME-supplemented IVC and control PWC; or (iv) βME–βME, βME-supplemented IVC and βME-supplemented PWC. βME during IVC reduced embryo development (28.0% vs. 43.8%) but, following vitrification, higher re-expansion rates were seen in βME–CTRL (84.0%) and βME–βME (87.5%) than in CTRL–CTRL (71.0%) and CTRL–βME (73.1%). Hatching rates were higher in CTRL–βME (58.1%) and βME–βME (63.8%) than in CTRL–CTRL (36.6%) and βME–CTRL (42.0%). Total cell number in hatched blastocysts was higher in βME–βME (181.2 ± 7.4 cells) than CTRL–CTRL (139.0 ± 9.9 cells). Adding βME to the IVC medium reduced development but increased cryotolerance, whereas adding βME to the PWC medium improved embryo survival, hatching rates, and total cell numbers.

Keywords

AntioxidantCattleCryopreservationCryosurvivalIVP embryo
Type
Research Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 830 - 840
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

*

Present address: Department of Animal Biosciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada N1G 2W1

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