Rapid method for the bovine zygotes vitrification

Abstract

For the first time, rapid vitrification method was used for bovine zygotes. According to the results of zygote survival, as well as the rate of embryos cleavage obtained after warming of zygotes cryopreserved by rapid vitrification, no significant differences were found between the modified and standard vitrification methods. Survival rates were similar in both groups (92.0% and 93.0%, respectively). The rate of blastocysts formation was 180.40 ± 6.17 hours in the control group during vitrification of zygotes according to the standard protocol, 179.85 ± 9.12 according to the modified protocol; there were no statistically significant differences between groups. The rapid vitrification method reduce the time oocytes and zygotes are hold at suboptimal temperature and osmolarity, thereby preserving the potential suitability of oocytes for gene editing and long-term cryopreservation in cryobanks.