Glucose requirement at different developmental stages of in vitro fertilized bovine embryos cultured in semi-defined medium. J.H. Kim, H. Funahashi,1 K. Niwa2 and K. Okuda. 

Theriogenology 39:875-886, 1983

Glucose requirement at different developmental stages of in vitro

fertilized bovine embryos cultured in semi-defined medium

Abstract

Three experiments were conducted in which 2-cell bovine embryos were 

prepared from oocytes, obtained from abattoir ovaries, by in vitro 

maturation for 22 to 24 hours, followed by exposure to spermatozoa for 8 

hours and culture for 40 hours within the cumulus. The cumulus cells were 

then removed, and the cleaved embryos were cultured for further 120 hours 

or longer, in the presence or absence of glucose, pyruvate and lactate. 

Very few embryos developed in the complete absence of energy substrates. 

Lactate and pyruvate, alone or combined, supported development to the 8-

cell stage, but pyruvate was required to support development to the morula 

stage(Experiment 1). When present throughout culture or when added at 48 

or 96 hours post insemination, 5.56mM glucose was detrimental to 

development(Experiment 1 and 2). However, when added at 120 hours post 

insemination, 5.56mM glucose improved development to the blastocyst and 

expanded blastocyst stages, compared with no glucose or 11.12mM glucose

(Experiment 3).

key words: bovine, oocytes, in vitro fertilization, embryo development, 

energy substrates