The relative developmental abilities of hamster 2- and 8-cell embryos in culture were compared using two versions of hamster embryo culture medium (HECM). These media differed primarily in the number of amino acids present, i.e., 20 amino acids in HECM-1 and four amino acids in HECM-2. When 2-cell embryos were cultured for 24 h, the percentages of greater than or equal to 4-cell embryos obtained in both HECM-1 and HECM-2 were comparable (congruent to 93%); at the end of 48 h, the proportion of greater than or equal to 8-cell embryos obtained in HECM-1 (82.5%) was significantly (P less than or equal to 0.001) more than that obtained in HECM-2 (67.9%). Interchange of media, after 24 h culture, did not enhance the ability of cultured 2-cell embryos to become blastocysts. When 8-cell embryos were cultured for 18 h in HECM-1 and -2, there was no appreciable difference in the proportion of total blastocysts formed (89-91%). However, there were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.001) more late blastocysts in HECM-2 than in HECM-1 (68.2% vs. 38.4%). Embryo development from 2- and 8-cell stages was compared in media that differed by the presence and absence of phenol red and penicillin-G. There was no difference in embryo development when these compounds were present or absent. Similarly, the difference in pyruvate concentration between HECM-1 and -2 (0.5 and 0.2 mM, respectively) did not affect embryo development.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)