Author
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Dobrinsky, John |
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Submitted to: Reproduction
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2001 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Great advancements in swine embryo cryopreservation have been made since the last International Conference on Pig Reproduction (ICPR) in 1997. Since then, there have been reports of live offspring production following transfer of frozen/thawed and vitrified/warmed pig embryos. Highlighted is the global progress in pig embryo cryopreservation. Cellular and molecular biology was used to understand the hypothermic sensitivity of pig embryos. Development of delipation technology provided the first evidence that intracellular lipid was linked to hypothermic sensitivity. Cytoskeletal stabilization and vitrification produced live offspring from vitrified/warmed and transferred embryos. Development of open pulled straws provided more rapid rates of cooling during vitrification and has been effective for pig embryo cryopreservation. Recently, technology has been developed for cryopreservation of pig morula. Although improvements and refinements of the technologies will continue, the time is here for the swine industry to consider pig embryo cryopreservation as a tool for swine production and propagating select herd genetics while maintaining germplasm resources for the future. Technical Abstract: Great advancements in swine embryo cryopreservation have been made since the last International Conference on Pig Reproduction (ICPR) in 1997. Then, methods existed to routinely cryopreserve germplasm and embryos of most livestock species except the pig, and development of this technology for use in the international swine industry was slow and in its infancy. Since then, there have been advancements in pig embryo cryopreservation research with reports of live offspring production following transfer of frozen/thawed and vitrified/warmed pig embryos. This paper summarizes the global progress in pig embryo cryopreservation research since the last ICPR. Cellular and molecular biology was used to understand the hypothermic sensitivity of pig embryos. Development of delipation technology provided the first evidence that intracellular lipid was linked to hypothermic sensitivity. Cytoskeletal stabilization and vitrification produced live offspring from vitrified/warmed and transferred embryos. Recently, technology has been developed for cryopreservation of pig morula. Development of open pulled straws provided more rapid rates of cooling during vitrification and has been effective for pig embryo cryopreservation. Although improvements and refinements of the technologies will continue, the time is here for the swine industry to consider pig embryo cryopreservation as a tool for swine production and propagating select herd genetics while maintaining germplasm resources for the future. |
