Int. J. Dev. Biol. 63: 253 - 258 (2019)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.190002mb

Vol 63, Issue 3-4-5

Special Issue: Early mammalian development

Enucleolation and nucleolus transfer in mammalian oocytes and zygotes

Published: 16 April 2019

Michal Benc*^,1,2, Josef Fulka, Jr.¹, František Strejček³, Martin Morovič³, Matej Murín⁴, Stanislava Martínková¹, Dominika Jettmarová¹ and Jozef Laurinčík^2,4

¹Institute of Animal Science, Prague, Czech Republic, ²Department of Zoology and Anthropology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic, ³Department of Botany and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovak Republic and ⁴The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Liběchov, Czech Republic

Abstract

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.

Keywords

nucleolus, micromanipulation, oocyte, zygote