Bioscientifica Proceedings

A series of integrated, effective techniques is required to produce pig embryos from follicular oocytes in vitro. The failure to form a male pronucleus and polyspermy have been serious problems in efforts to produce embryos efficiently in vitro from pig oocytes. The former problem is now considered to be due to oxidative stress and the latter has been partially solved by reducing the number of capacitated spermatozoa reaching the oocytes. By the use of n...

During the period of late follicular development and the first four days of the oestrous cycle, the oviduct occupies a central role in the establishment of pregnancy. Oviductal function is regarded as being either 'passive' or biologically active, providing an environment that sustains and enhances fertilization and early cleavage-stage embryonic development. Recent reports have focused on this microenvironment and shown that ovarian steroids induce marked morphological, ...

The changing global needs for food and animal products require the development of breeding strategies for maximizing genetic improvement while maintaining genetic diversity. Genetic diversity can be conserved by using separate breeding herds; however, they may be expensive to maintain and inbreeding becomes a major concern. Alternative methods are needed to preserve valuable genetic resources in a reasonable and economic manner. Embryo cryopreservation allows indefinite s...