In vitro fertilisation in domestic mammals—a brief overview

Abstract

Many factors influence the final oocyte maturation, fertilisation, and early embryo development, and there are both similarities and differences between species. When comparing the advancement of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs), the development in the bovine species is not far behind the medical front, with around one million in vitro-produced bovine embryos each year. This rate of progress is not seen in the other domestic species. This review aims to give an overview of the development and specific difficulties of in vitro embryo production in various domestic animal species, with the main focus on cows, pigs, and cats. In production animals, the aim of ARTs is commonly to increase the genetic progress, not to treat reproductive failure. The ARTs are also used for preservation of genetic diversity for the future. However, specifically for oocyte maturation, fertilisation, and early embryonic development, domestic mammals such as the cow and pig can be used as models for humans. This is particularly attractive from an animal welfare point of view since bovine and porcine oocytes are available in large numbers from discarded slaughterhouse material, thereby decreasing the need for research animals. Both for researchers on the animal and human medical fronts, we aim for the development of in vitro production systems that will produce embryos and offspring that are no different from those conceived and developed in vivo. Species-comparative research and development can provide us with crucial knowledge to achieve this aim and hopefully help us avoid unnecessary problems in the future.

Keywords:

• Embryo
• in vitro maturation
• in vitro production
• oocyte
• species comparison

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank previous and present co-workers and collaborators and would also like to apologise to all authors not cited due to space restrictions. The author would also like to specifically acknowledge the Centre for Reproductive Biology in Uppsala (CRU), which has been the origin for the collaboration between Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences within the field of human and animal IVF.

Disclosure statement

The author reports no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Funding for the work cited where the author has been involved was received from: the Swedish Research Council Formas [Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, project numbers 221–2007-374, 221–2010-549, and 942–2015-00476], the Swedish Research Council [VR, project number 2017–02116], Carl Tryggers Stiftelse [CTS 17:413], and Stiftelsen Nils Lagerlöfs fond [KSLA, GFS2017-0032]. The Platform for Developmental Biology SLU financed equipment used to provide the images in this article.

Notes on contributors

Ylva Sjunnesson

Ylva Sjunnesson, DVM, PhD, Associate Professor, Director of The Centre for Reproductive biology in Uppsala (CRU).