Parthenogenetic activation of mouse oocytes in vitro with ethanol and benzyl alcohol

✍ Scribed by Cuthbertson, K. S. Roy

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1983
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 287 KB
• Volume: 226
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1402260217

✦ Synopsis

Treatment in vitro of ovulated mouse oocytes for 5-10 min with 4.5-8.6% ethanol or 0.24-0.4% benzyl alcohol was found to induce parthenogenetic activation. Suppression of the second polar body with cytochalasin D and subsequent culture in vitro gave a high yield of parthenogenetic morulae and blastocysts (up to 85% overall). Fifty percent of transferred diploid parthenogenones implanted, 14% developed into egg cylinders, and 8% formed somites and developed as far as the forelimb-bud stage.

A variety of techniques have been described for inducing artificial activation of mouse eggs (recently reviewed by Whittingham, '80) but subsequent parthenogenetic development has usually been very limited. Parthenogenetic development to the forelimb-bud stage has been reported after prolonged (5 h) treatment of eggs with Ca2' and Mg'-free medium and the transfer of resulting blastocysts to ovariectomized pseudopregnant females (Kaufman et al., '77). There remains, however, a requirement for a method for activating mouse eggs that is flexible and reliably produces somite-stage parthenogenones.

The report by Dyban and Khozai ('80) that ethanol induces the activation of mouse eggs in vivo prompted the development of a method for activating mouse eggs with alcohols in vitro. This paper describes this method and the development of the parthenogenones that it produces.