Successful gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) in the porcine

Abstract

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) was successfully established in the pig. In Experiment 1 (6 replicates) 234 oocytes (39 ± 5.5 per recipient) plus spermatozoa (4000 to 8000 per oocyte) were transferred bilaterally into the oviducts of synchronized gilts, and embryos were recovered 48 h thereafter. The recovery rate was 50.4% and 50% of the recovered oocytes were fertilized. A total of 55 embryos was cultured in vitro in NCSU-medium for 48 h and 63.6% developed to morula or blastocyst stages. In Experiment 2 (5 replicates) 220 oocytes (44 ± 4.9 per recipient) plus spermatozoa (4000 per oocyte) were transferred to 5 recipients which were allowed to go to term. Three gilts delivered 16 (n = 3, 5, 8) piglets. In Experiment 3 (5 replicates) 183 oocytes (36.6 ± 1.2 per recipient) plus flow cytometry gender sorted spermatozoa (4000 per oocyte) were transferred to 5 recipients. The recovery rate was 47.8%, and 27.6% of the oocytes were fertilized. From all cleaved oocytes 45.8% developed to expanded blastocysts, with the number of blastomeres varying from 20 to 85 (38.3 ± 22.5). These results indicate that the GIFT procedure can be used successfully in pigs, and can be a valuable tool for the study of gamete interaction as well as in the continued development of biotechnological procedures such as sex pre-determination.