Screening of in vitro-produced cattle embryos to assess incidence and characteristics of unbalanced chromosomal aberrations

In cattle, pregnancy rates of in vitro-produced embryos are lower than those of in vivo-produced embryos. One of the reasons may be the increase in chromosomal aberrations due to in vitro maturation and fertilization of the oocyte. Currently, embryo transfer is commonly applied in nucleus cattle breeding programs, and the embryos are genotyped for genomic selection. Therefore, intensity data from SNP arrays can be exploited for preimplantation genetic testing by screening the intensity data of the embryos for unbalanced chromosomal aberrations. A total of 558 stage 8 Dutch Holstein embryos genotyped with SNP arrays were screened in an observational study in retrospect. We found a 5% incidence rate of unbalanced chromosomal aberrations (aneuploidy and ploidy issues) among 430 successfully genotyped cattle embryos. The 22 affected embryos showed either aneuploidy or ploidy issues; monosomy was most frequently observed (14/22). In most cases (16/19) the maternal chromosome or chromosomes were lost or gained. One of the monosomy cases gave rise to a live-born fully diploid individual, suggesting mosaicism. Given that embryo genotypes are readily available, monitoring incidence can easily be applied. Moreover, selection for euploid embryos may improve pregnancy rates for in vitro embryo transfer.