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Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Oocytes obtained from the ovaries of slaughtered prepubertal ewes can be incorporated into an in vitro embryo production system. The collection of this material is possible at two different times of the year, spring and autumn. The first period is linked to the natural reproductive c...

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Autores principales: Serra, Elisa, Gadau, Sergio Domenico, Leoni, Giovanni Giuseppe, Naitana, Salvatore, Succu, Sara
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8300209/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34202918
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071886
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author Serra, Elisa
Gadau, Sergio Domenico
Leoni, Giovanni Giuseppe
Naitana, Salvatore
Succu, Sara
author_facet Serra, Elisa
Gadau, Sergio Domenico
Leoni, Giovanni Giuseppe
Naitana, Salvatore
Succu, Sara
author_sort Serra, Elisa
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Oocytes obtained from the ovaries of slaughtered prepubertal ewes can be incorporated into an in vitro embryo production system. The collection of this material is possible at two different times of the year, spring and autumn. The first period is linked to the natural reproductive cycle of the sheep. The second, on the other hand, is linked to the manipulation of the reproductive seasonality which allows the oestrus cycle to be controlled artificially. The analysis highlighted that the collection season influences oocytes quality from prepubertal donors in terms of improved energetic and oxidative status, microtubular organization, and developmental competence in oocytes recovered in spring. Data obtained underline that oocytes seem to be genetically and evolutionarily programmed to give their best in spring, this being the most favorable period for newborns. ABSTRACT: The reproductive seasonality of domestic animals is often manipulated in order to have more reproductive periods for commercial purposes related to the production of milk and meat. It is scientifically proven that such an alteration of the reproductive activity in sheep entails a deterioration in oocyte quality, leading to an inability to generate embryos. Since oocytes obtained from prepubertal ewes can be incorporated into an in vitro embryo production system and considering that their quality is crucial to the success of in vitro procedures, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of seasons on the quality of prepubertal ovine oocytes collected in autumn and spring. Ovaries were collected from a local slaughterhouse from 30–40-day-old suckling lambs during both seasons. Following 24 h of in vitro maturation, oocytes developmental competence, reactive oxygen species (ROS) intracellular levels, and mitochondrial activity were evaluated, and a tubulin assessment was performed. The results on embryo production, as a percentage of first divisions and number of blastocysts obtained, were significantly higher in oocytes collected in the spring. Mitochondrial activity in oocytes was higher, and ROS production significantly lower, in spring than in autumn. Tubulin PTMs (tyrosinated and acetylated α-tubulin) showed a higher immunoreactivity in oocytes collected in spring compared with autumn sampling. Our data showed that seasons may affect the developmental competence, energetic status, and tubulin assessment of oocytes recovered from prepubertal ewes. Therefore, special care should be taken when choosing the period of the year for prepuberal ovine oocytes collection aimed at in vitro embryo reproduction programs.
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spelling pubmed-83002092021-07-24 Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte Serra, Elisa Gadau, Sergio Domenico Leoni, Giovanni Giuseppe Naitana, Salvatore Succu, Sara Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Oocytes obtained from the ovaries of slaughtered prepubertal ewes can be incorporated into an in vitro embryo production system. The collection of this material is possible at two different times of the year, spring and autumn. The first period is linked to the natural reproductive cycle of the sheep. The second, on the other hand, is linked to the manipulation of the reproductive seasonality which allows the oestrus cycle to be controlled artificially. The analysis highlighted that the collection season influences oocytes quality from prepubertal donors in terms of improved energetic and oxidative status, microtubular organization, and developmental competence in oocytes recovered in spring. Data obtained underline that oocytes seem to be genetically and evolutionarily programmed to give their best in spring, this being the most favorable period for newborns. ABSTRACT: The reproductive seasonality of domestic animals is often manipulated in order to have more reproductive periods for commercial purposes related to the production of milk and meat. It is scientifically proven that such an alteration of the reproductive activity in sheep entails a deterioration in oocyte quality, leading to an inability to generate embryos. Since oocytes obtained from prepubertal ewes can be incorporated into an in vitro embryo production system and considering that their quality is crucial to the success of in vitro procedures, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of seasons on the quality of prepubertal ovine oocytes collected in autumn and spring. Ovaries were collected from a local slaughterhouse from 30–40-day-old suckling lambs during both seasons. Following 24 h of in vitro maturation, oocytes developmental competence, reactive oxygen species (ROS) intracellular levels, and mitochondrial activity were evaluated, and a tubulin assessment was performed. The results on embryo production, as a percentage of first divisions and number of blastocysts obtained, were significantly higher in oocytes collected in the spring. Mitochondrial activity in oocytes was higher, and ROS production significantly lower, in spring than in autumn. Tubulin PTMs (tyrosinated and acetylated α-tubulin) showed a higher immunoreactivity in oocytes collected in spring compared with autumn sampling. Our data showed that seasons may affect the developmental competence, energetic status, and tubulin assessment of oocytes recovered from prepubertal ewes. Therefore, special care should be taken when choosing the period of the year for prepuberal ovine oocytes collection aimed at in vitro embryo reproduction programs. MDPI 2021-06-24 /pmc/articles/PMC8300209/ /pubmed/34202918 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071886 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Serra, Elisa
Gadau, Sergio Domenico
Leoni, Giovanni Giuseppe
Naitana, Salvatore
Succu, Sara
Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title_full Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title_fullStr Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title_full_unstemmed Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title_short Seasonal Effect on Developmental Competence, Oxidative Status and Tubulin Assessment of Prepubertal Ovine Oocyte
title_sort seasonal effect on developmental competence, oxidative status and tubulin assessment of prepubertal ovine oocyte
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8300209/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34202918
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11071886
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