In vitro development of bovine embryos cultured under different fetal calf serum concentrations and cell types

Abstract

The present work was carried out to evaluate the in vitro development of bovine embryo co-cultured in granulosa, oviduct, BRL or VERO cells co-cultures, supplemented with 5% or 10% of Fetal Calf Serum (FCS). Cummulus oocyte complexes were aspirated, matured and fertilized in vitro. Embryonic structures were divided into eight treatments. They were placed in culture media TCM 199 containing granulosa, oviduct, BRL or VERO cells, each of them added with 5% or 10% FCS. The conditions for the co-culture were 38.5 ºC, 5% CO2 in air and high humidity for ten consecutive days. Cleavage, blastocyst and hatching rates did not differ (p > 0.05) in co-culture with primary cells (granulosa and oviduct) when FCS concentration increased from 5 to 10%. However, in continuous cells co-culture (BRL and VERO), when FCS concentration increased from 5% to 10%, the blastocyst development rate decreased significantly (p < 0.05) from 33.6 to 16.3% and from 40 to 16.5% in embryo co-culture with BRL and VERO cells, respectively.