Sex of co-twin affects the in vitro developmental competence of oocytes derived from 6- to 8-week-old lambs

Reprod Fertil Dev. 2017 Jul;29(7):1379-1383. doi: 10.1071/RD16098.

Abstract

Several intrinsic factors (age, genotype, liveweight) influence the reliability of juvenile in vitro fertilisation embryo transfer (JIVET) programs. Limited evidence indicates that variability between lambs is reduced in twin-born lambs. We examined the impact of birth type (single, twin, triplet) and sex of the co-twin (with age, birthweight and liveweight as covariates) on JIVET outcomes. Birth type did not influence any parameter studied. However, blastocysts produced, as a percentage of embryos cleaved or total cumulus-oocyte complexes collected, was higher (P<0.05) for females born with a female co-twin (67.0±6.1, 57.5±6.0 respectively) compared with those born with a male co-twin (26.9±6.5, 22.3±6.2 respectively; least-square mean±s.e.m.). Blastocyst rates for lambs born with a male co-twin did not differ significantly from lambs born either as singles (39.5±6.7%, 34.6±6.5% respectively) or triplets (43.1±10.6%, 36.5±10.3% respectively). Other parameters were not influenced by sex of the co-twin. These results are indicative of an enhancement effect of the female co-twin on oocyte development. From a practical perspective, selecting lambs for a JIVET program based on litter size and sex of the co-twin is warranted.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Blastocyst / cytology
  • Embryo Transfer / veterinary
  • Embryonic Development
  • Female
  • Fertilization in Vitro / veterinary
  • Litter Size
  • Male
  • Oocyte Retrieval / veterinary
  • Oocytes / growth & development*
  • Pregnancy
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Sheep, Domestic / growth & development*