Abstract
To improve the efficiency of nuclear transplantation in the rabbit, this study were evaluated the influence of celly cycle of donor nuclei on the in vitro developmental potential in the nuclear transplant embryos. The embryos of 16-cell stage were collected from the mated does at 48h post-hCG injection and they were synchronized to G1 phase of 32-cell stage. Synchronization of the cell cylce of blastomeres were induced, first, using an microtubules polymerization inhibitor, 0.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml colcemid for 10h to arrest blastomeres in metaphase, and secondly, using a DNA synthesis inhibitor, 0.1$\mu\textrm{g}$/ml aphidicolin for 1.5 to 2h to cleave to 32-cell stage and arrest them in G1 phase. The separated G1 phase blastomeres of 32-cell stage were injectied into enucleated recipient cytoplasms by micromanipulation. After culture until 20h post-hCG injection, the nuclear transplant oocytes were electrofused and activated by electrical stimulation. The nuclear transplant embryos were co-cultured for 120h. In vitro cultured embryos were monitored every 24h to assess for development rate. After in vitro cultue for 120h, the nuclear transplant embryos developed to blastocyst stage were stained with Hoechst 33342 dye for counting the number of blastomeres under a fluorescence microscopy. The cleavage rate of blastomeres from 16-cell stage stage rabbit embryos treated with colcemid for 10h or aphidicolin for 6h following colcemid for 10h were not significantly different. The electrofusion rate was similar by high in S and G1 phase donor nuclei as 80.6 and 79.1%, respectively. However, the nuclear transplant embryos using G1 phase donor nuclei were developed to blastocyst at high rate(60.3%) than those using S phase donor nuclei(26.0%). Moreover, the mean blastocyst stage were increased significantly(P<0.05) with the G1 phase donor nuclei(176.6 cells and 1.50 cycles), as compared with the S phase donor nuclei(136.6 cells and 1.42 cycles). These results show that the blastomeres of G1 phase were more successful as donor nuclei in the nuclear transplant procedure, compared with S phase.
