Effect of Stearic Acid on the Efficiency of Cryopreservation of Embryos of the Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus).

This work is aimed at studying the effect of saturated stearic acid (SA) under in vitro culture conditions on the embryos of the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) and at estimating how a change in the composition of intracellular lipids is reflected in the results of cryopreservation. The addition of SA to the culture medium had no effect on the development of cat embryos in vitro before cryopreservation. There were also no changes by the total amount of lipids in the embryos after the effect of SA. Meanwhile, the degree of lipid unsaturation was reduced in the embryos after in vitro cultivation with SA. Moreover, the temperature of lipid phase transition onset (T*) was higher in the embryos exposed to the effect of SA as compared with the control. A decrease in the efficiency of embryo cryopreservation during the cultivation with SA was associated with a decrease in the degree of unsaturation of intracellular lipids and a increase in T *. The results can be important for the conservation of genetic resources of the species from the subfamily Felinae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]