• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.51-59
• /
• 2003

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different freezing and thawing rates on the viability, motility and acrosomal changes of frozen canine spermatozoa. The ejaculated semen was extended with Tris-egg yolk buffer containing 8% glycerol and equilibrated for 60 min after cooled to 4$^{\circ}C$ for 58 min. The straws were cryopreserved gradually by slow-cooling at different distance(6, 10 and 17 cm, respectively) from the liquid nitrogen (L$N_2$) to achieve temperature rate of 3, 8.9 and 19$^{\circ}C$ /min. Thawing of the straws was performed in a water bath fur 2 min at 37$^{\circ}C$ and 55$^{\circ}C$ , respectively. The motility of frozen-thawed spermatozoa was assessed by phase-contrast microscopy. To assess their viability and acrosome content, spermatozoa were stained with a vital stain and Fluorescence conjugated lectin Pisum Savitum Agglutinin (FITC/PAS), respectively. Concentration of the ejaculated fresh semen was normal range of 3.44 $\times$ 10$^{8}$ /ml. Freezing temperature were reduced to -110, -70 and -35$^{\circ}C$, as higher distance from liquid nitrogen, 6, 10 and 17 cm, respectively. Freezing at 3$^{\circ}C$/min in distance of 17 cm from liquid nitrogen yielded better motility, viability and rate of intact acrosome than 8.9 or 19$^{\circ}C$/min and the optimal thawing was 37$^{\circ}C$ for 2 min.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.265-269
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of different feeding ratios of whole crop barley silage on the embryo production in Hanwoo donors. All donors were basically fed 2.5 kg concentrate daily. Donors were divided into three groups according to the different feeding of forage; hay 70% and rice straw 30% (control, n = 21), whole crop barley silage 80% and rice straw 20% (T1, n = 25), and whole crop barley silage 60% and rice straw 40% (T2, n = 23) fed based on TDN 6.70/ BW 500 kg. All Hanwoo donors received a CIDR together with injections of 1 mg estradiol benzoate and 50 mg progesterone ($P_4$, Day 0). Four days later, they were superovulated with 28 mg FSH twice daily IM in decreasing doses over 4 days. Then donors received 2 doses of $PGF_2{\alpha}$ (25 and 15 mg) with the 5th and 6th injections of FSH on Day 6. CIDR were withdrawn at the 6th FSH injection and the donors received $100\;{\mu}g$ GnRH 36 h after the second $PGF_2{\alpha}$ injection. The donors were artificially inseminated twice, at 8 and 24 h after GnRH, and embryos were recovered 7 or 8 days after the 1st insemination. The flush rate of the donors following positive superovulation responses did not differ among groups (76.2~96.0%, p>0.05). The number of corpus luteum (CL) at embryo recovery also did not differ among groups (10.6~14.0, p>0.05). Furthermore, the mean numbers of total ova (9.4, 10.5 and 12.0) and transferable embryos (5.3, 12.0 and 6.5) did not significantly differ among the control, T1 and T2 groups, respectively (p>0.05). However, mean concentrations of serum $P_4$ of the T1 (64.2 ng/ml) and T2 groups (55.7 ng/ml) were higher than that of control group (43.3 ng/ml, p<0.01), while serum cholesterol concentrations in the control (105.8 mg/dl) and T2 groups ($96.9\;{\pm}\;mg/dl$) were significantly lower than in the T1 group (121.1 mg/dl, p<0.05). Conclusively, whole crop barley silage can be fed a good substitute for hay forage for Hanwoo donors. Furthermore the ratios of whole crop barley silage 60% and rice straw 40% might be more worthful for embryo production.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.121-128
• /
• 2015

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of sperm cryosurvival in boar sperm separated by Percoll containing antioxidant enzymes. The boar semen was collected into a pre-warmed ($37^{\circ}C$) thermos bottle by gloved-hand method and was separated by 65% Percoll with superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) before freezing. The frozen sperm was thawed at $38.5^{\circ}C$ for 45 sec in water-bath for sperm characteristic analysis. The sperm were estimated with SYBR14/PI double staining for viability, FITC-PNA/PI double staining for acrosome reaction, Rhodamine123/PI double staining for mitochondrial integrity and were analyzed using flow cytometry. In results, sperm viability, acrosome reaction and mitochondrial integrity were improved in separated sperm groups compared with unseparated sperm by Percoll (UP) group. Especially, viability was significantly higher in sperm separated by Percoll containing 400 IU CAT group compared with other groups (P<0.05). And acrosome reaction was decreased in sperm separated by Percoll with 300 IU SOD, 400 IU CAT and 0.5 mM GSH groups compared with other groups, however, there were no significantly difference mitochondrial integrity among sperm separated by Percoll with antioxidant enzymes. In conclusion, we suggest that use of Percoll containing antioxidant enzymes for sperm separation will be beneficial for sperm cryopreservation in pigs.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.207-219
• /
• 2014

Three-dimensional (3D) culture system is useful technique for study of in vivo environment and it was used various experiments. This study was investigated to establish of embryo co-culture system and changes of PAs activity in 3D cultured endometrial cells of pigs. In results, growth of stromal cells into gel matrix were detected only with endometrial and myometrial cells. The most rapid growth of stromal cells were confirmed in $2.5{\times}10^5cells/ml$ and gel matrix containing 15% FBS. Expression of urokinase-PA (uPA) after treatment of hCG (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 IU/ml) were higher than without hCG, but, there are not significant difference among the treatment. On the other hand, expression of uPA after treatment of $IL-1{\beta}$ (0.1, 1, 10 and 100 ng/ml) were higher than without $IL-1{\beta}$, but, there are not significant difference. Expression of uPA after treatment of estrogen (0.2, 2, 20 and 200 ng/ml) were not difference, but PA activity was significantly decreased (p<0.05). Blastocyst was producing in PZM-3 medium containing FBS and endometrial cells were grown in PZM-3 medium. When embryos development with cultured endometrial cells, cleavage rates were not significant difference and blastocyst were not produced in co-culture with stromal cells and 3D culture system. 3D culture system had similar activity to in vivo tissue and these features are very useful for study of in vivo physiology. Nevertheless 3D culture system was not proper in embryo co-culture system. Therefore, we suggest that 3D culture system with embryo co-culture need continuous research.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.283-287
• /
• 2014

Sexed semen is commonly used for the production of calves of the desired gender. Gender selection is important in animal production industries. For example, female cattle are required for the dairy industry while males are preferred in the beef cattle industry. The present study was to assess the in vivo embryo production efficiency using the semen separated according to sex during superovulation in Hanwoo. Seventy Hanwoo donor cows were flushed on day 7 of estrus cycle with same FSH and artificial insemination by the same technicians. Embryos were recovered on 7 days after the third insemination by flushing the uterus with embryo collection medium. KPN semen straws used artificial insemination contained 20 million sperm (total number 60 million per donor). Sex-sorted semen straws contained 4 million sperm (total number 12 million per donor). The results obtained were as follows: No differences were observed in the efficiency of superovulation rates on KPN semen 87%, and sexed semen 100%, respectively. The mean numbers of total embryos are each $12.58{\pm}8.31$ and $13.25{\pm}7.86$. The mean numbers of transferable embryos, sexed semen were significantly lower than KPN semen ($3.75{\pm}1.98$ vs. $8.23{\pm}6.07$, P<0.05). The rates of unfertilized embryos from superovulation using sexed semen were significantly higher than KPN semen (50% vs. 15%, P<0.05). The rate of degenerated 2-cell embryos from sexed and KPN semen was 60.87% and 11.11%, respectively (p<0.05). In conclusion, these results indicate that superovulation using sexed semen was useful, but efficient embryo production was important to reducing the damage caused by the Flowcytometer-based sperm sorting procedure.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.1529-1536
• /
• 2006

We cloned a gene of ompH(D:4) from pigs infected with P. multocida D:4 in Korea [16]. The gene is composed of 1,026 nucleotides coding 342 amino acids (aa) with a signal peptide of 20 aa (GenBank accession number AY603962). In this study, we analyzed the ability of the ompH(D:4) to induce protective immunity against a wild-type challenge in mice. To determine appropriate epitope(s) of the gene, one full and three different types of truncated genes of the ompH(D:4) were constructed by PCR using pET32a or pRSET B as vectors. They were named ompH(D:4)-F (1,026 bp [1-1026] encoding 342 aa), ompH(D:4)-t1 (693 bp [55-747] encoding 231 aa), ompH(D:4)-t2 (561 bp [187-747] encoding 187 aa), and ompH(D:4)-t3 (540 bp [487-1026] encoding 180 aa), respectively. The genes were successfully expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). Their gene products, polypeptides, OmpH(D:4)-F, -t1, -t2, and -t3, were purified individually using nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) affinity column chromatography. Their $M_rs$ were determined to be 54.6, 29, 24, and 23.2 kDa, respectively, using SDS-PAGE. Antisera against the four kinds of polypeptides were generated in mice for protective immunity analyses. Some $50{\mu}g$ of the four kinds of polypeptides were individually provided intraperitoneally with mice (n=20) as immunogens. The titer of post-immunized antiserum revealed that it grew remarkably compared with pre-antiserum. The lethal dose of the wild-type pathogen was determined at $10{\mu}l$ of live P. multocida D:4 through direct intraperitoneal (IP) injection, into post-immune mice (n=5, three times). Some thirty days later, the lethal dose ($10{\mu}l$) of live pathogen was challenged into the immunized mouse groups [OmpH(D:4)-F, -t1, -t2, and -t3; n=20 each, two times] as well as positive and negative control groups. As compared within samples, the OmpH(D:4)-F-immunized groups showed lower immune ability than the OmpH(D:4)-t1, -t2, and -t3. The results show that the truncated-OmpH(D:4)-t1, -t2, and -t3 can be used for an effective vaccine candidate against swine atrophic rhinitis caused by pathogenic P. multocida (D:4) isolated in Korea.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.1115-1123
• /
• 2016

_L-Asparaginase (E.C. 3.5.1.1) is an enzyme involved in asparagine hydrolysis and has the potential to effect leukemic cells and various other cancer cells. We identified the _L-asparaginase gene (_L-ASPG86) in the genus Mesoflavibacter, which consists of a 1,035 bp open reading frame encoding 344 amino acids. Following phylogenetic analysis, the deduced amino acid sequence of _L-ASPG86 (_L-ASPG86) was grouped as a type I asparaginase with respective homologs in Escherichia coli and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The _L-ASPG86 gene was cloned into the pET-16b vector to express the respective protein in E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. Recombinant _L-asparaginase (r-_L-ASPG86) showed optimum conditions at 37-40℃, pH 9. Moreover, r-_L-ASPG86 did not exhibit glutaminase activity. In the metal ions test, its enzymatic activity was highly improved upon addition of 5 mM manganese (3.97-fold) and magnesium (3.35-fold) compared with the untreated control. The specific activity of r-_L-ASPG86 was 687.1 units/mg under optimum conditions (37℃, pH 9, and 5 mM MnSO₄).

• Korean Journal of Animal Reproduction
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.23-32
• /
• 1991

This present study was designed to investigate by light microscope the morphologic changes in the uterine and vaginal epithelium of postpartum Korean native goats. Tissues were obtained for study on days 1, 3, 10 and 21 postpartum. The results obtained in this study were as followed; 1. Light microscopically, the height of the uterine epithelium was gradually decreased with the intervals and secretory profiles of apocrine were observed at between 1 and 10 days postpartum. The frequency of the light and dark cells with Masson's trichrom stain was high at 1 day postpartum an low at 21 days. A few of PAS positive cells were generally observed at 1 day postpartum, while PAS positive cells were not seen at 21 days. Numerous globule leucocytes were found between the epithelium and in the subepithelium at 1 day and thereafter moderate globule leucocytes were also found in the other periods. The intraepithelial vacuoles with crystalline structure appeared at 10 days postpartum. 2. The height of the vaginal mucosa was gradually decreased with the intervals but the highest layer was found at 3 days postpartum. The frequency of the mast cells was increased with times. At 3 and 10 days postpartum the shape of the surface-epithelium was cuboidal and the vacuolation of the epithelium was observed at 10 and 21 days.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.175-180
• /
• 2006

This study was conducted to examine the effect of pre activation treatment and activation time of recipient cytoplasm on the development of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer(NT) embryos. Donor cells were transferred and electrofused to enucleated oocytes before(pre-AC) or after activation(post-AC). Activation was induced with a combination of $Ca^{2+}$-ionophore(A23187) and DMAP. NT embryos were cultured in CR1aa containing 3 mg/ml BSA for 9 days. Some NT embryos were fixed at 0.5 to 2.5 hr after fusion(for post-AC) or activation(for pre-AC) for confocal microscopy. Developmental rate to the blastocyst stage was slightly high in the post-AC group(20.6%) compared to that of pre-AC group(15.3%). However, developmental speed of embryos in the pre-AC group was faster than that of embryos in the post-AC group. Development rates to the blastocyst stage were similar among different activation time before fusion(0.5,2 and 4 hr). The result of the present study suggests that development and nuclear morphology are affected f the activation status of the recipient cytoplasm before fusion.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.207-212
• /
• 2006

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of mechanical enucleation methods, aspiration and squeezing, on the developmental ability of nuclear transfer bovine embryos. Enucleated oocytes made by both enucleation methods were fused to adult ear skin cells. After 7 days of culture, developmental ability up to blastocyst stage was similar in both squeezing($33.6{\pm}15.7%$) and aspiration enucleation methods($31.9{\pm}13.4%$). The proportion of blastocysts at Day 8 of culture was also similar between the aspiration($37.8{\pm}10.4%$) and squeezing enucleatign s($35.3{\pm}15.1%$). The mean cell number in Day 7 blastocysts was also similar between the both groups(aspiration: $110.3{\pm}39.2$ vs. squeezing: $103.7{\pm}42.8$). The ratio of apoptotic cells was also found to be not significant different between the both groups(aspiration: $2.8{\pm}2.6%$ vs. squeezing: $4.3{\pm}4.4%$). These results suggest that aspiration and squeezing methods, as mechanical enucleation technique, are both useful for the production of bovine somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos.