Improvement of developmental competence by regulation of protein metabolic systems in bovine embryos fertilized in vitro

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K06378
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 42010:Animal production science-related
• Research Institution: Saga University
• Principal Investigator: YAMANAKA Ken-ichi 佐賀大学, 農学部, 准教授 (40572920)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 体外受精 / 小胞体ストレス / ウシ / 胚発生 / OPU

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aimed to establish the in vitro embryo production system to improve the developmental competence of bovine in vitro fertilized embryos by controlling endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced during the protein modifications. Expression analysis of ER stress-related genes revealed that ER stress is significantly induced during in vitro maturation and early embryogenesis stages. Based on these results, optimization of ER stress suppression conditions successfully improved not only the in vitro development rate of embryos but also their viability after freezing and thawing. In addition, the application of this method to oocytes derived from OPU was confirmed to improve their developmental competence, indicating that this method can be applied at the field level. These results could contribute to the efficiency of calf production using in vitro fertilized embryos.

Free Research Field

動物繁殖学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

胚発生過程といった特殊な時期における小胞体ストレスによる影響は不明な点が多く、その一端を明らかにした本研究の成果は学術的意義があるといえる。また、体外受精胚からの子牛生産の需要が国内外を問わず増加している。しかしながら、体外受精胚は体内胚と比較すると耐凍性も低く、移植した場合の受胎率も10％程度低いことが問題となっている。このような状況において、生産現場での適応が可能な今回の成果は、実社会での課題解決のための一助となり、その社会的意義もあるといえる。