Abstract
The formation of tetraploid embryos (4n) by electrofusion and their subsequent chimerism with a diploid embryo (2n) must result in a chimeric conceptus, whose inner cell mass (ICM) is entirely 2n. Hence, the aggregation of a zebu embryo (4n, thermotolerant) with a taurine embryo (2n, thermosensitive) would result in an exclusively taurine ICM, but the trophectoderm (future extraembryonic components) would be mostly from the zebu embryo, which could interact with the taurine embryo/fetus in a different way (than it occurs in whole Bos taurus conceptus) during pregnancy in a tropical environment. The purpose of this study was to standardize the production of 4n Nelore embryos (Bos indicus) and the production of embryonic chimeras by aggregation of 1/2 B. taurus (2n) with B. indicus (4n) embryos. Oocytes from Nelore cows from the abattoir were matured, fertilized with semen from Nelore and Holstein bulls and cultured in SOF. Two-cell stage Nelore embryos (30 h post-insemination), with a well-defined inter-blastomeric axis, were selected for the electrofusion procedure (ECM 830-BTX, Harvard Apparatus) to produce 4n embryos. For this procedure, some parameters were tested according to the number of pulses (1 or 2), voltage (40, 50, 75, 100, 140 and 500 V) and duration of electroshock (20, 25, 50 and 60 μs). Nelore 4n embryos produced after electrofusion and 2n taurine embryos, both at 8 to 16-cell stages (72 h post-insemination) were subjected to protease treatment to remove the zona pellucida and subsequently treated with the agglutinant agent phytohemagglutinin. Bos indicus (4n) and B. taurus (2n) embryos were added in pairs (4n+2n) into individual wells (well of the well, WOW) for culture until the blastocyst stage to validate the chimeric embryos formation. Among the tested parameters, the best fusion results (92%) and rates of cleavage after fusion (66%) were obtained with a single pulse of 75 V for 60 μs. The production rate of expanded 4n blastocysts was 31.5% using these parameters. After 4 replicates (still in the final stage of standardization), 4 blastocyst chimeras (4n+2n) were obtained from 31 attempts (13%). The production of bovine embryonic chimeras [Bos indicus (4n) + Bos taurus (2n)], with a non-random pattern of distribution of their cell aggregates, will enable the validation of this technique in applied research, by producing exclusively taurine calves, but with placental elements from the B. indicus breed, following transfer of these chimeras into recipient cows. Financial support received from FAPESP, Brazil.
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