Caprine somatic cell nuclear transfer using in vivo matured oocytes collected by laparoscopic follicular aspiration

In vivo matured oocytes collected by laparoscopic follicular aspiration (LFA) from hormone treated female goats were used as recipient ooplasts for somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). Japanese native (Shiba) goats were used as donor females and some donor females were used repeatedly (two or three times) at intervals of a few months. To induce synchronization of estrus, a sponge containing 0.5 g of progesterone was inserted into the vagina of each goat for 14 days. These animals were also treated with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) in a series of 8 injections over 4 days. The first FSH injection was administered on the morning of day 9 of sponge insertion. On the morning of day 13, 50 µg of gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) was injected into each animal. Twenty‐nine hours after GnRH injection, LFA was performed. After removal of cumulus cells, collected oocytes with the first polar body were selected and enucleated for nuclear transfer. Anterior pituitary cells isolated from an adult male Shiba goat were transfected with a DNA fragment containing the enhanced green flourescent protein gene and the puromycin resistance gene. A single donor cell was inserted into the perivitelline space of each enucleated oocyte and fusion was induced with one electric pulse of 20 V for 10 µs. The SCNT goat eggs were cultured in chemically defined medium at 38.5°C in 5% CO₂, 5% O₂, 90% N₂ for 9 days. By LFA, 396 oocytes were collected from a total of 30 females. After removal of cumulus cells, 64% of them extruded the first polar body. The percentage of SCNT goat eggs produced using in vivo matured oocytes which developed to the blastocyst stage (20–21%) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that produced with in vitro matured oocytes (3–8%).