298 RED DEER (CERVUS ELAPHUS) PARTHENOGENETIC BLASTOCYSTS PRODUCED USING IONOMYCIN/6DMAP ACTIVATION

Abstract

Successful activation of red deer oocytes is a necessary prerequisite for the cloning of red deer individuals with desirable genetic characteristics. To investigate this, an established biphasic protocol used for oocyte activation in sheep was investigated for suitability. The method chosen was 5 μM Ionomycin for 5 min followed by 2 mM 6DMAP for 3 h ( Loi P et al., 1998 Biol. Reprod. 58, 1177–1187). The medium used during activation and subsequent culture was Deer Synthetic Oviduct Fluid, which has been shown to support routine in vitro fertilization and blastocyst development (15%) of in vitro-matured red deer oocytes (DSOF, Berg D et al., 2003 Theriogenology 59, 189–205). Red deer abattoir-derived COCs were matured in vitro for 22 h before random allocation across 3 treatment groups comprising a standard IVF group, the activation group and a negative control group exposed to medium only. Activation treatment oocytes were stripped of cumulus by vortexing in 0.1% hyaluronidase before selecting for first polar body extrusion. First-step activation was performed in medium comprising HEPES-buffered IVF-DSOF containing 4 mM Ca²⁺. Second-step activation used 3 mM Ca²⁺ early DSOF under 7% O₂, 5% CO₂, and 88% N₂ at 38.5°C. Standard IVF was conducted at 23 h post-IVM using 4 mM Ca²⁺ IVF-DSOF and 0.5 × 10⁶ mL⁻¹ final sperm concentration. Following activation and IVF, oocytes were washed 3 times in HEPES DSOF before culture for 7 days in sequential DSOF with late DSOF on Day 4 containing 1.5 mM Ca²⁺. Cleavage was assessed 24 h after activation, and all blastocysts were fixed for cell counts. Four replicates of each treatment were performed. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were examined by chi-square analysis and cell numbers by ANOVA. First polar body extrusion rate was 84%. Cleavage was similar between the activation treatment and IVF (P > 0.05 ); but a significant difference was found in blastocyst development rates (P < 0.05) with the Ionomycin and 6DMAP protocol being superior to the IVF treatment. Exposure to high Ca²⁺ media alone resulted in only 5% of the negative control oocytes cleaving to 2 cells. Results show that Ionomycin and 6DMAP are effective in activating red deer oocytes and DSOF is a suitable medium to produce parthenogenetic blastocysts.