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In contrast to the livestock industry, sperm cryopreservation has not yet been successfully established in the poultry industry. This is because poultry sperm cells have a unique shape and membrane fluidity, differing from those of livestock sperm. The objective of this review is to discuss the cellular and molecular characteristics of rooster spermatozoa as a cause for their generally low freezability. Furthermore, here, we discuss novel developments in the field of semen extenders, cryoprotectants, and freezing processes, all with the purpose of increasing the potential of rooster sperm cryopreservation. Currently, it is very important to improve cryopreservation of rooster sperm on a global scale for the protection of gene resources due to the incidence of epidemics such as avian influenza.

Sequence differences are considered to be the basic cause of developmental failure in interspecies embryos when more distant species are combined. However, other phenomena, such as insufficient or excessive quantity of specific cellular factors, might also influence the outcome. These effects are usually not considered. One of the organelles shown to contain different amount of proteins is the oocyte nucleolus-like body. Here we show that upon interspecies transfer, a single porcine nucleolus-like body is unable to support the development of a mouse parthenogenetic embryo derived from an enucleolated oocyte. However, when the amount of the porcine nucleolar material is increased to equalize the amount of mouse nucleolar material by transferring two nucleolus-like bodies, mouse embryos are able to pass the developmental block elicited by enucleolation. These embryos progress to the blastocyst stage at rates comparable to controls. Thus, using the model of an interspecies nucleolus-like body transplantation between mouse and pig oocytes, we show that an inadequate amount of nucleolar factors, rather than the species origin, affects the development. In a wider context of interspecies nuclear transfer schemes, the observed incompatibility between more distant species might not stem simply from sequence differences but also from improper dosage of key cellular factors.

In brief Understanding the establishment of post-fertilization totipotency has broad implications for modern biotechnologies. This review summarizes the current knowledge of putative egg components governing this process following natural fertilization and after somatic cell nuclear transfer. Abstract The mammalian oocyte is a unique cell, and comprehending its physiology and biology is essential for understanding fertilization, totipotency and early events of embryogenesis. Consequently, research in these areas influences the outcomes of various technologies, for example, the production and conservation of laboratory and large animals with rare and valuable genotypes, the rescue of the species near extinction, as well as success in human assisted reproduction. Nevertheless, even the most advanced and sophisticated reproductive technologies of today do not always guarantee a favorable outcome. Elucidating the interactions of oocyte components with its natural partner cell – the sperm or an ‘unnatural’ somatic nucleus, when the somatic cell nucleus transfer is used is essential for understanding how totipotency is established and thus defining the requirements for normal development. One of the crucial aspects is the stoichiometry of different reprogramming and remodeling factors present in the oocyte and their balance. Here, we discuss how these factors, in combination, may lead to the formation of a new organism. We focus on the laboratory mouse and its genetic models, as this species has been instrumental in shaping our understanding of early post-fertilization events.

Differentiated nuclei can be reprogrammed/remodelled to totipotency after their transfer to enucleated metaphase II (MII) oocytes. The process of reprogramming/remodelling is, however, only partially characterized. It has been shown that the oocyte nucleus (germinal vesicle - GV) components are essential for a successful remodelling of the transferred nucleus by providing the materials for pseudo-nucleus formation. However, the nucleus is a complex structure and exactly what nuclear components are required for a successful nucleus remodelling and reprogramming is unknown. Till date, the only nuclear sub-structure experimentally demonstrated to be essential is the oocyte nucleolus (nucleolus-like body, NLB). In this study, we investigated what other GV components might be necessary for the formation of normal-sized pseudo-pronuclei (PNs). Our results showed that the removal of the GV nuclear envelope with attached chromatin and chromatin-bound factors does not substantially influence the size of the remodelled nuclei in reconstructed cells and that their nuclear envelopes seem to have normal parameters. Rather than the insoluble nuclear lamina, the GV content, which is dissolved in the cytoplasm with the onset of oocyte maturation, influences the characteristics and size of transferred nuclei.

Simple Summary The long-term storage of biological material (sperm, oocytes, embryos, etc.) is essential not only for animal breeding programs, human ART, and basic biology, but also for rescuing endangered animal species and other technologies. Whilst sperm storage is almost perfected for some species (bovine, human, mouse), many problems remain in others. In our contribution, we present a simple approach that can be used for the rapid evaluation of DNA damage level in sperm nuclei after freezing. This approach can be useful especially in those cases when the amount of frozen biological material is limited and permits much higher flexibility when modifying chosen preservation approaches. Abstract Xenogenic mammalian sperm heads injected into mouse ovulated oocytes decondense and form pronuclei in which sperm DNA parameters can be evaluated. We suggest that this approach can be used for the assessment of sperm DNA damage level and the evaluation of how certain sperm treatments (freezing, lyophilization, etc.) influence the quality of spermatozoa.

Mammalian oocytes/zygotes contain atypical nucleoli that are composed exclusively of a dense fibrillar material. It has been commonly accepted that these nucleoli serve as a repository of components that are used later on, as the embryo develops, for the construction of typical tripartite nucleoli. Indeed, when nucleoli were removed from immature oocytes (enucleolation) and these oocytes were then matured, fertilized or parthenogenetically activated, development of the produced embryos ceased after one or two cleavages with no detectable nucleoli in nuclei. This indicated that zygotic nucleoli originate exclusively from oocytes, i.e. are maternally inherited. Recently published results, however, do not support this developmental biology dogma and demonstrate that maternal nucleoli in one-cell stage embryos are necessary only during a very short time period after fertilization when they serve as a major heterochromatin organizing structures. Nevertheless, it still remains to be determined, which other functions/roles the atypical oocyte/zygote nucleoli eventually have.

The oocyte GV/GVs (germinal vesicle/germinal vesicles) and zygot PN/PNs (pronucleus/pronuclei) of some mammals contain clearly visible nucleoli which exhibit an atypical morphological structure. These nucleoli (NCLs) can be relatively easily manipulated, i.e. removed from GVs/PNs or eventually transferred into another oocyte/zygote. Thus, with the help of micromanipulation techniques it was possible to uncover the real function(s) they play in processes of oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. The purpose of our review is to describe briefly the micromanipulation techniques that can be used for oocyte/zygote nucleoli manipulation. Moreover, we present some examples of results that were obtained in nucleolus manipulation experiments.

Here we report in vitro and term development of sheep embryos after the inner cell mass (ICM) from one set of sheep blastocysts were injected into the trophoblast vesicles of another set. We also observed successful in vitro development of chimeric blastocysts made from sheep trophoblast vesicles injected with bovine ICM. First, we dissected ICMs from 35 sheep blastocysts using a stainless steel microblade and injected them into 29 re-expanded sheep trophoblastic vesicles. Of the 25 successfully micromanipulated trophoblastic vesicles, 15 (51.7%) re-expanded normally and showed proper ICM integration. The seven most well reconstructed embryos were transferred for development to term. Three ewes receiving manipulated blastocysts were pregnant at day 45 (42.8%), and all delivered normal offspring (singletons, two females and one male, average weight: 3.54 ± 0.358 kg). Next, we monitored in vitro development of sheep trophoblasts injected with bovine ICMs. Of 17 injected trophoblastic vesicles, 10 (58.8%) re-expanded after 4 h in culture, and four (40%) exhibited integrated bovine ICM. Our results indicate that ICM/trophoblast exchange is feasible, allowing full term development with satisfactory lambing rate. Therefore, ICM exchange is a promising approach for endangered species conservation.

SummaryIt is well known that nucleoli of fully grown mammalian oocytes are indispensable for embryonic development. Therefore, the embryos originated from previously enucleolated (ENL) oocytes undergo only one or two cleavages and then their development ceases. In our study the interspecies (mouse/pig) nucleolus transferred embryos (NuTE) were produced and their embryonic development was analyzed by autoradiography, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and immunofluorescence (C23 and upstream binding factor (UBF)). Our results show that the re-injection of isolated oocyte nucleoli, either from the pig (P + P) or mouse (P + M), into previously enucleolated and subsequently matured porcine oocytes rescues their development after parthenogenetic activation and some of these develop up to the blastocyst stage (P + P, 11.8%; P + M, 13.5%). In nucleolus re-injected 8-cell and blastocyst stage embryos the number of nucleoli labeled with C23 in P + P and P + M groups was lower than in control (non-manipulated) group. UBF was localized in small foci within the nucleoli of blastocysts in control and P + P embryos, however, in P + M embryos the labeling was evenly distributed in the nucleoplasm. The TEM and autoradiographic evaluations showed the formation of functional nucleoli and de novo rRNA synthesis at the 8-cell stage in both, control and P + P group. In the P + M group the formation of comparable nucleoli was delayed. In conclusion, our results indicate that the mouse nucleolus can rescue embryonic development of enucleolated porcine oocytes, but the localization of selected nucleolar proteins, the timing of transcription activation and the formation of the functional nucleoli in NuTE compared with control group show evident aberrations.

An effort to improve development potential of early embryos is one of the main goals of biotechnology in the area of reproductive biology with application in veterinary or human medicine. Recent observations of the function of nucleolus or rather its forms before, during and after the fertilisation or parthenogenetic activation show the key role(s) of nucleolus in the processes of early genome activation. The nucleolus is a subnuclear structure (organelle) mainly involved in regulation of transcription and translation. This organelle has been characterized in detail by immunofluorescence, cell transfection and proteomics. This data was, however, mostly obtained in nucleoli of differentiated eukaryotic cells. Much less is known about the nucleolar structural changes and related functional processes in growing and fully grown mammalian oocytes, zygotes and early cleavage stage embryos, especially in the context of embryonic genome activation. It has been shown, that nucleoli in mammalian oocytes and early embryos have several forms and functions, which vary during the oocyte growth and embryonic development. Certain functions have not been fully described or explained, yet. The method of enucleolation, which allows to remove nucleoli from the oocytes or to exchange nucleoli between oocytes or zygotes, together with their proteomic and structural analyses brought new information about functions of nucleoli in oocytes and early cleavage-stage embryos and allowed to explain some new key roles of nucleoli during oocyte maturation and early embryonic development.

The aim of this chapter is to highlight those reference articles where relevant manipulations are described in depth. Essentially, these methodological articles deal mostly with mouse oocytes and embryos, but in general, the same can be performed, with modifications, in human oocytes and embryos. We strongly recommend good training with laboratory animals and ungulate oocytes. From the technical point of view, the basic micromanipulation approaches are simple and they only need some skill. On the other hand, there are some important questions that need to be answered before these methods can be used in human-assisted reproduction. The fragmentary information we have mostly from animal experiments is clearly insufficient. An increased incidence of chromosomal abnormalities and epigenetic defects has been observed in children from oocytes injected with foreign cytoplasm, and such issues need to be resolved and further researched.

Embryonic stem cells are mostly derived from mature oocytes that were either fertilized or activated parthenogenetically and then reached the blastocyst stage. From the cell cycle perspective, fertilization or activation induces the exit from meiosis, decondensation of oocyte chromosomes, and the entry into mitosis. Decondensation of oocyte chromatin with subsequent formation of nuclei can be, however, induced at any postgerminal vesicle breakdown meiotic maturation stage. In this article, we discuss the possibility of cleavage of transformed maturing oocytes and whether they can reach the blastocyst stage, from which pluripotent stem cell lines could be derived.

Global transcription silencing occurs in the oocyte during its final phase of growth. The particular mechanism of this silencing is not well understood. Here, we investigated the silencing of RNA polymerase II transcription in porcine oocytes. First, we investigated the transcriptional activity of germinal vesicle oocytes derived from stimulated and non-stimulated gilts, but no transcriptional activity was observed. Second, we focused on the fate of RNA polymerase II in growing and fully grown oocytes. Active and inactive forms of RNA polymerase II were detected in growing oocytes by immunofluorescence and Western blots. In contrast, only the inactive form of RNA polymerase II was detected in fully grown oocytes. To evaluate if the inactive form of RNA polymerase II is released from DNA, the oocytes were subsequently permeabilized and fixed in one step. After this modified fixation protocol, the immunofluorescent labeling was negative in fully grown oocytes, but remained unchanged (positive) in growing oocytes. These results indicate that the inactive form of RNA polymerase II is not bound to DNA during the oocyte growth. Finally, based on Western blot analysis of different stages of oocyte maturation, the inactive form of RNA polymerase II was detected in metaphase I but not in metaphase II. Our study confirmed the global transcription silencing of fully grown oocytes. Compared with other mammalian species (e.g., mouse), the mechanism of RNA polymerase II silencing in porcine oocytes seems to be similar, despite some differences in dynamics.

Compared with advanced developmental stage embryos and somatic cells, fully grown mammalian oocytes contain specific nucleolus-like structures (NPB - nucleolus precursor bodies). It is commonly accepted that they serve as a store of material(s) from which typical nucleoli are gradually formed. Whilst nucleoli from somatic cells can be collected relatively easily for further biochemical analyses, a sufficient number of oocyte nucleoli is very difficult to obtain. We have found that isolated oocytes nucleoli fuse very efficiently when contact is established between them. Thus, well visible giant nucleoli can be obtained, relatively easily handled and then used for further biochemical analyses. With the use of colloidal gold staining, we estimated that a single fully grown mouse oocyte nucleolus contains approximately 1.6 ng of protein. We do believe that this approach will accelerate further research aiming at analyzing the composition of oocyte nucleoli in more detail.

A recent paper entitled ‘Resurrection of DNA function in vivo from an extinct genome’ (Pask et al. 2008; PLoS ONE 3:e2240) suggests that the return to life of extinct animals could be just around the corner. Indeed, every time a mammoth is unearthed, hot debates on the possibility of ‘resuscitating’ it take place worldwide. However, most of this on-going discussion is purely speculative, and is not backed by rigorous scientific criteria. In the present review we describe a step-by-step approach to test the functionality of nuclei collected from a non-living mammal through nuclear transplantation into enucleated oocytes.

In mammals, the nucleolus of full-grown oocyte is essential for embryonic development but not for oocyte maturation. In our study, the role of the growing oocyte nucleolus in oocyte maturation was examined by nucleolus removal and/or transfer into previously enucleolated, growing (around 100 µm in diameter) or full-grown (120 µm) pig oocytes. In the first experiment, the nucleoli were aspirated from growing oocytes whose nucleoli had been compacted by actinomycin D treatment, and the enucleolated oocytes were matured in vitro. Most of non-treated or actinomycin D-treated oocytes did not undergo germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD; 13% and 12%, respectively). However, the GVBD rate of enucleolated, growing oocytes significantly increased to 46%. The low GVBD rate of enucleolated, growing oocytes was restored again by the re-injection of nucleoli from growing oocytes (23%), but not when nucleoli from full-grown oocytes were re-injected into enucleolated, growing oocytes (49%). When enucleolated, full-grown oocytes were injected with nucleoli from growing or full-grown oocytes, the nucleolus in the germinal vesicle was reassembled (73% and 60%, respectively). After maturation, the enucleolated, full-grown oocytes injected with nucleoli from full-grown oocytes matured to metaphase II (56%), whereas injection with growing-oocyte nucleoli reduced this maturation to 21%. These results suggest that the growing-oocyte nucleolus is involved in the oocyte's meiotic arrest, and that the full-grown oocyte nucleolus has lost the ability.

To summarize, it is clear that NPBs play an important structural and chromatin organizing role, especially the pericentric heterochromatin and centromeres that associate with this nuclear body. Recent results demonstrate the role of epigenetic mechanisms in establishment of pericentric heterochromatin and centromere function. However, as the protein composition of this unique structure is unknown it is also not known to what extent NPBs play an active role in this process. Ogushi and Saitou [19] have demonstrated that zygotic and GV-stage oocyte NPBs are not equivalent in composition and/or function. Exchanging zygotic NPBs for oocyte NPBs in mouse one-cell stage embryos lead to a lag in cell cycle progression and severe developmental arrest. These experiments clearly demonstrate that the proposed nucleolus transplantation therapy will not be trivial. In other words, the mentioned experiments indicate that during oocyte growth and early embryonic development the composition and/or function of the NPB changes, even though the NPB appears morphologically equivalent in these cells. These subtle changes might therefore prevent the proposed micromanipulation therapy (exchange of NPBs between oocyte and zygote or transfer of additional NPB material originating from oocytes to zygotes).

ESCs are most commonly derived from embryos originating from oocytes that reached metaphase II. We describe here a novel approach where ESCs with all pluripotency parameters were established from oocytes in which metaphase I was converted, from the cell cycle perspective, directly into metaphase II-like stage without the intervening anaphase to telophase I transition. The resulting embryos initiate development and reach the blastocyst stage from which the ESC lines are then established. Thus, our approach could represent an ethically acceptable method that can exploit oocytes that are typically discarded in in vitro fertilization clinics. Moreover, our results also indicate that the meiotic cell cycle can be converted into mitosis by modulating chromosomal contacts that are typical for meiosis with subsequent licensing of chromatin for DNA replication.

The most successful development of interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) embryos has been achieved in closely related species. The analyses of embryonic gene activity in iSCNT embryos of different species combinations have revealed the existence of significant aberrations in expression of housekeeping genes and genes dependent on the major embryonic genome activation (EGA). However, there are many studies with successful blastocyst (BL) development of iSCNT embryos derived from donor cells and oocytes of animal species with distant taxonomical relations (inter-family/inter-class) that should indicate proper EGA at least in terms of RNA polymerase I activation, nucleoli formation, and activation of genes engaged in morula and BL formation. We investigated the ability of bovine, porcine, and rabbit oocytes to activate embryonic nucleoli formation in the nuclei of somatic cells of different mammalian species. In iSCNT embryos, nucleoli precursor bodies originate from the oocyte, while most proteins engaged in the formation of mature nucleoli should be transcribed from genesde novoin the donor nucleus at the time of EGA. Thus, the success of nucleoli formation depends on species compatibility of many components of this complex process. We demonstrate that the time and cell stage of nucleoli formation are under the control of recipient ooplasm. Oocytes of the studied species possess different abilities to support nucleoli formation. Formation of nucleoli, which is a complex but small part of the whole process of EGA, is essential but not absolutely sufficient for the development of iSCNT embryos to the morula and BL stages.

The best results of inter-species somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) in mammals were obtained using closely related species that can hybridise naturally. However, in the last years, many reports describing blastocyst development following iSCNT between species with distant taxonomical relations (inter-classes, inter-order and inter-family) have been published. This indicates that embryonic genome activation (EGA) in xeno-cytoplasm is possible, albeit very rarely. Using a bovine–pig (inter-family) iSCNT model, we studied the basic characteristics of EGA: expression and activity of RNA polymerase II (RNA Pol II), formation of nucleoli (as an indicator of RNA polymerase I (RNA Pol I) activity), expression of the key pluripotency geneNANOGand alteration of mitochondrial mass. In control embryos (obtained by IVF or iSCNT), EGA was characterised by RNA Pol II accumulation and massive production of poly-adenylated transcripts (detected with oligo dT probes) in blastomere nuclei, and formation of nucleoli as a result of RNA Pol I activity. Conversely, iSCNT embryos were characterised by the absence of accumulation and low activity of RNA Pol II and inability to form active mature nucleoli. Moreover, in iSCNT embryos,NANOGwas not expressed, and mitochondria mass was significantly lower than in intra-species embryos. Finally, the complete developmental block at the 16–25-cell stage for pig–bovine iSCNT embryos and at the four-cell stage for bovine–pig iSCNT embryos strongly suggests that EGA is not taking place in iSCNT embryos. Thus, our experiments clearly demonstrate poor nucleus–cytoplasm compatibility between these animal species.

Both the sperm and oocyte are terminally differentiated cells, but within a very short post-fertilization period, their genomes are converted into a totipotent zygote. The process of this transformation has been studied in a number of mammals as well as in the pig, for which very inconsistent results have been published. To clarify these inconsistencies, we have used the interspecies intracytoplasmic sperm injection technique for embryo production and subsequent paternal genome remodeling evaluation. First, we injected boar sperm heads into ovulated and in vitro matured mouse oocytes. The boar spermatozoa consistently decondense in ovulated oocytes and form fully developed pronuclei with demethylated DNA (5-methylcytosine; 5-MeC). Additional labeling against other histone modifications (H3/K9 dimethylation, H3/K4 trimethylation) and HP1 (Heterochromatin Protein 1) revealed similarity to those changes that are typical for natural mouse zygotes. On the other hand, no decondensation and formation of male pronuclei were observed, in spite of obvious oocyte activation, in in vitro matured oocytes. For this reason, we have evaluated the reprogramming parameters of in vitro matured mouse oocytes in more detail. In mouse zygotes (intraspecific), both pronuclei were consistently formed, but no sperm head chromatin demethylation was detected after 5-MeC labeling. Our observations suggest that porcine sperm heads are capable of undergoing active demethylation in in vivo matured mouse oocytes. On the other hand, in vitro matured oocytes possess much lower sperm remodeling capabilities.

The aim of the present paper is to analyse briefly the complicated references to musical composition in the work of Claude Lévi-Strauss. In his monumental tetralogy entitled Mythologiques, Lévi-Strauss considers the musical composition as a paradigm for structural analysis of myths. In this respect, the author compares Lévi-Strauss’ position with that of Pierre Schaeffer whose project of the “concrete music” is strongly criticised by Lévi-Strauss. In the second part of the text, Lévi-Strauss’ structural analysis of Wagner’s operas are examined, as well as the criticism ad dressed to Lévi-Strauss by Jean-Jacques Nattiez – universalist pretension and vagueness of the method based upon binary oppositions seems to represent weak points of Lévi-Strauss’ impressive effort to set new bases for human sciences.

In germinal vesicles of immature mammalian oocytes, including humans, as well as in pronuclei in 1-cell stage embryos, prominent nuclear organelles, nucleoli, can be easily detected even under a relatively low magnification. In humans, it has been clearly documented that their number, position and distribution in pronuclei can be used as an indicator of embryonic developmental potential. In the light of some recent experiments showing the feasibility of nucleolar manipulation we discuss here if these new approaches can be used to rescue those embryos with abnormal pronuclear nucleolar patterns.

For somatic cell nuclear transfer cytoplasts from metaphase II, oocytes are exclusively used. However, it is evident that certain reprogramming activities are present in oocytes even at earlier stages of maturation. These activities are, however, only poorly characterised. The main reason for this is that even the intrinsic oocyte processes are insufficiently understood. The mammalian oocyte is a highly specialised cell that harbours many specific characteristics. One of these is its particularly large size when compared to somatic cells. As the oocyte enters the growth phase its volume, as well as the amount of material, increases considerably. Thus, it is clear that the oocyte must possess the machinery to accomplish this incredible material accumulation. When the growth phase is completed, the transcription ceases and the oocyte becomes transcriptionally inactive. In our study, we have used the model system of oocyte fusion (transcribing x non-transcribing germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes) as a substitute for a somatic cell nuclear transfer schemes where the somatic cell nucleus would be introduced into a cytoplast obtained from a GV stage oocyte. We wanted to determine if the fully grown GV stage oocyte could induce reprogramming of transcriptionally active transferred nucleus by suppressing this activity. In order to evaluate possible changes in transcriptional properties after nuclear transfer, we also investigated the mechanism of transcriptional silencing taking place when the oocyte reaches its full size as well as the fate of the components namely of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcriptional and splicing machinery. Here, we show that while the Pol II is degraded in fully grown GV stage oocytes and the splicing proteins undergo significant rearrangement, these oocytes are unable to induce similar changes in transcriptionally active nuclei even after a prolonged culture interval.

The recent vote in the British Parliament allows scientists in principle to create hybrid embryos by transferring human somatic cell nuclei into animal oocytes. This vote opens a fascinating new area of research with the central aim of generating interspecific lines of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that could potentially be used to understand development, differentiation, gene expression and genomic compatibility. It will also promote human cell therapies, as well as the pharmaceutical industry's search for new drug targets. If this approach is to be successful, many biological questions need to be answered and, in addition, some moral and ethical aspects must be taken into account.