Comparison of glucose metabolism in in vivo- and in vitro-matured tammar wallaby oocytes and its relationship to developmental potential following intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Genevieve M. Magarey A and Karen E. Mate A BA Cooperative Research Centre for Conservation and Management of Marsupials, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
B To whom correspondence should be addressed. email: karen.mate@newcastle.edu.au
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 16(6) 617-623 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD03062
Submitted: 1 September 2003 Accepted: 30 April 2004 Published: 16 August 2004
Abstract
Although marsupial oocytes undergo nuclear maturation in vitro, there is, at present, no indication of their developmental potential, largely owing to the lack of in vitro fertilisation and related technologies for marsupials. Glucose metabolism has proven a useful indicator of oocyte cytoplasmic maturation and developmental potential in several eutherian species. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to compare: (1) the rates of glycolysis and glucose oxidation in immature, in vitro-matured and in vivo-matured tammar wallaby oocytes; and (2) the metabolic rate of individual oocytes with their ability to form pronuclei after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. The rates of glycolysis measured in immature (2.18 pmol oocyte–1 h–1), in vitro-matured (0.93 pmol oocyte–1 h–1) and in vivo-matured tammar wallaby oocytes (0.54 pmol oocyte–1 h–1) were within a similar range to values obtained in eutherian species. However, unlike the trend observed in eutherian oocytes, the glycolytic rate was significantly higher in immature oocytes compared with either in vivo- or in vitro-matured oocytes (P < 0.001) and significantly higher in in vitro-matured oocytes compared with in vivo-matured oocytes (P < 0.001). No relationship was identified between glucose metabolism and the developmental capacity of oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection when assessed after 17–19 h. Oocytes that became fertilised (two pronuclei) or activated (one or more pronucleus) were not distinguished from others by their metabolic rates. Longer culture after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (e.g. blastocyst stage) may show oocyte glucose metabolism to be predictive of developmental potential; however, culture to the single-cell stage did not reveal any significant differences in normally developing embryos.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Dr Rebecca Spindler at the Conservation Research Center, National Zoo Washington, for demonstration of radiometabolic techniques, Dr Jim Catt and Sydney IVF for the loan of micromanipulation equipment, Ms Janine Buist for skilled technical assistance, Ron Claassens and staff at the Macquarie University Fauna Park for care of the animals and Vetrepharm for the generous donation of porcine LH. This work was supported by the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centres Program. G. M. M. was the recipient of a Macquarie University Postgraduate Research Award.
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