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Reproduction, Fertility and Development Reproduction, Fertility and Development Society
Vertebrate reproductive science and technology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Bovine oocyte maturation: acquisition of developmental competence

Bernard A. J. Roelen https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9512-4708
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584CT Utrecht, Netherlands. Email: b.a.j.roelen@uu.nl

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 32(2) 98-103 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD19255
Published: 2 December 2019

Abstract

Although millions of oocytes are formed during embryo and fetal development in the cow, only a small fraction of these will form a developmentally competent oocyte and be fertilised. Development to competence relies on an intimate contact between the oocyte and the surrounding somatic cells in ovarian follicles, via both direct cell–cell contact and paracrine signalling. An important aspect of oocyte maturation is the segregation of homologous chromosomes and subsequently sister chromatids to form a haploid oocyte. Furthermore, the cytoplasm needs to be prepared for the formation of pronuclei and nuclear reprogramming to form a totipotent zygote. Conditions such as high levels of fatty acids or oxidative stress constrain the developmental competence of oocytes, and a better insight into these processes may help improve in vitro and in vivo oocyte maturation success. In addition, identification of the developmentally competent oocyte is useful for the efficiency of (artificial) reproduction.

Additional keywords: cumulus cells, meiosis, reproduction.


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