Oocyte recovery and in vitro embryo production in cows treated with a single dose of follicle-stimulating hormone

Authors: THIAGO MARQUEZ FERNANDES, PAULO ROBERTO ADONA, SAMUEL GUEMRA, TIAGO HENRIQUE CAMARA DE BEM, MOYSES DOS SANTOS MIRANDA

Abstract: Cows were treated with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in a single dose and then subjected to ovum pick-up (OPU) for evaluation of oocyte recovery and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Cows underwent OPU followed by application of FSH (200 mg) on day 2 and new OPU on day 3. This methodology was repeated 3 times sequentially. In FSH-free the cows (control), OPU was performed at intervals of one week. The number of oocytes recovered was higher in the control cows (22.2 ± 1.5) compared to the treated cows (16.9 ± 1.4; P < 0.05). There was no difference between the control (13.2 ± 0.6) and the treated (11.2 ± 1.1) cows in the number of viable oocytes (P > 0.05). There was no difference between the control cows (47.1 ± 4.2%) and the treated cows (45.3 ± 7.7%) with respect to the percentage of embryos (P > 0.05). There were no differences in pregnancy for the blastocysts between the control and the treated cows (50.0 ± 2.1 and 47.3 ± 2.5%; P > 0.05), respectively. In conclusion, the single-dose FSH protocol did not significantly alter the evaluated results of viable oocytes, in vitro production of embryos, or pregnancy percentage. However, there is a possibility of several consecutive OPU/IVF sessions every three days.

Keywords: Bovine, cryopreservation, ovum pick-up, pregnancy

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