The oocytes have been fertilised, and we now have presumptive zygotes! How can we give these zygotes the best opportunity to develop into competent blastocysts, ready to be cryopreserved or transferred into recipient cattle?

Here are some of our tips following IVF:

1. Remove cumulus cells quickly and thoroughly to reduce the metabolic requirements on the culture media.

2. Take advantage of embryonic growth factors by grouping presumptive zygotes close together and culturing in drops under oil.

3. Use media with the necessary components for each developmental stage.

4. Culture in low oxygen, we recommend 5-7% oxygen from day 1-8 of culture. 5. Work quickly so that embryos are back in the incubator as soon as possible.  

Our Founder, Prof. Jeremy Thompson investigated the effect of oxygen concentration during in vitro culture of early cattle and sheep embryos.

Refer to Jeremy’s highly cited paper: Effect of oxygen concentration on in-vitro development of preimplantation sheep and cattle embryos in Reproduction, Authors: J. G. E. Thompson, A. C. Simpson, P. A. Pugh, P. E. Donnelly, and H. R. Tervit .  Link: https://lnkd.in/gmCXxtUy