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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 68/3/829    most recent biolreprod.102.006494v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Krivokharchenko, A. Articles by Bader, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Krivokharchenko, A. Articles by Bader, M. Agricola Articles by Krivokharchenko, A. Articles by Bader, M.

Development of Parthenogenetic Rat Embryos¹

^a Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, D-13092 Berlin-Buch, Germany

In an effort to establish cloning technology for the rat, we tested several methods (electric stimulation, treatment with ethanol or strontium) for the parthenogenetic activation of rat oocytes. We observed marked individual differences among rats of the outbred Wistar strain in their ability to yield activatable oocytes. These differences were independent of the activation protocol and may be due to a genetic predisposition that is crucial for the parthenogenetic activation of oocytes. The activation of oocytes was dependent upon the time between superovulation of the donor animal and the collection of the embryos. Aged oocytes (derived about 24 h after superovulation) were more prone to activation by each method than were younger oocytes, and some even underwent spontaneous activation without treatment and exhibited pronuclear formation and blastocyst development. All activation methods were effective in generating parthenogenetic rat embryos, and rat parthenotes developed until implantation. However, in general, short-term (15 min) and long-term (2 h) strontium treatment was superior to stimulation by ethanol or electric pulse for parthenogenetic activation. These results will be helpful in achieving successful cloning in the rat.

¹ I.Z. was supported by a fellowship of the Berlin Program to Support Equal Opportunities for Females in Research and Teaching.

² Correspondence: Michael Bader, Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert-Rössle-Strasse 10, D-13092 Berlin-Buch, Germany. FAX: 49 30 9406 2110; e-mail: mbader{at}mdc-berlin.de

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