Abstract
Although the embryos of certain mammals, including man, can be cultured in vitro through several cleavage divisions1,2, it is only in the mouse that complete development through the preimplantation period (one-cell to the blastocyst stage3) occurs without affecting subsequent embryonic viability after transfer1,4. But even in the mouse, development in vitro from the one-cell to the blastocyst stage is restricted to certain inbred strains and F1 hybrids1,3,5,6. In most randomly bred strains the one-cell embryo becomes blocked at the two-cell stage in vitro and it will only continue development if transferred back into the oviduct7. Here we present evidence that this so-called ‘in vitro two-cell block’ can be obviated by injecting small amounts of cytoplasm from embryos which do not exhibit this block.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Whittingham, D. G. in The Early Development of Mammals (eds Balls, M. & Wild, A. E.) 1–24 (Cambridge University Press, London, 1975).
Whittingham, D. G. Br. med. Bull. 35, 105–111 (1979).
Whitten, W. K. & Biggers, J. D. J. Reprod. Fert. 17, 399–401 (1968).
Hoppe, P. C. & Pitts, S. Biol. Reprod. 8, 420–426 (1973).
Biggers, J. D. in The Biology of the Blastocyst (ed. Blandau, R. J.) 319–327 (University of Chicago Press, 1971).
Shire, J. G. M. & Whitten, W. K. Biol. Reprod. 23, 369–376 (1980).
Whittingham, D. G. & Biggers, J. D. Nature 213, 942–943 (1967).
Fulton, B. & Whittingham, D. G. Nature 272, 149–151 (1978).
Whittingham, D. G. J. Reprod. Fert. Suppl. 14, 7–21 (1971).
Siracusa, G., Whittingham, D. G. & De Felici, M. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 60, 71–82 (1980).
Lo, C. W. & Gilula, N. B. Cell 18, 399–409 (1979).
Young, R. J., Sweeney, K. & Bedford, J. M. J. Embryol. exp. Morph. 44, 133–148 (1978).
Levey, I. L., Stull, G. B. & Brinster, R. L. Devl Biol. 64, 140–148 (1978).
Clegg, K. B. & Piko, L. Nature 295, 342–345 (1982).
Quinn, P. & Wales, R. G. J. Reprod. Fert. 35, 301–309 (1973).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Muggleton-Harris, A., Whittingham, D. & Wilson, L. Cytoplasmic control of preimplantation development in vitro in the mouse. Nature 299, 460–462 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/299460a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/299460a0
This article is cited by
-
Cytoplasmic Transfer Improves Human Egg Fertilization and Embryo Quality: an Evaluation of Sibling Oocytes in Women with Low Oocyte Quality
Reproductive Sciences (2021)
-
New Frontiers in IVF: mtDNA and autologous germline mitochondrial energy transfer
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2019)
-
Ooplasmic transfer in human oocytes: efficacy and concerns in assisted reproduction
Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology (2017)
-
Lack of effects of ooplasm transfer on early development of interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer bison embryos
BMC Developmental Biology (2016)
-
The role of Rad51 in safeguarding mitochondrial activity during the meiotic cell cycle in mammalian oocytes
Scientific Reports (2016)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
