Zinc supplementation during in vitro embryo culture increases inner cell mass and total cell numbers in bovine blastocysts

Abstract

Deficiencies in current embryo culture media likely contribute to the poor blastocyst development rates and pregnancy retention rates for in vitro produced (IVP) bovine embryos. Of special concern is the lack of micronutrients in these media formulations. One micronutrient of interest is zinc, an essential trace element involved with various enzyme and transcription factor activities. The objective of this work was to describe whether zinc sulfate supplementation during in vitro embryo culture affects bovine embryo development and blastomere numbers. Either 0, 2, 20, or 40 μM zinc sulfate was supplemented to presumptive zygotes cultured in synthetic oviductal fluid containing AAs and bovine serum albumin for 8 d. None of the treatments affected cleavage rates. Percentage of blastocysts on days 7 and 8 postfertilization was not affected by supplementing 2 or 20 μM zinc but were reduced (P < 0.05) with 40 μM zinc. In blastocysts harvested on day 8, inner cell mass (ICM) and total cell number were increased (P < 0.05) with 2 μM zinc supplementation but not with the other zinc concentrations. Numbers of trophectoderm cells were not affected by zinc treatment. In conclusion, supplementing zinc during bovine embryo culture did not impact blastocyst development but improved ICM cell numbers. This improvement in ICM cell number may have implications for improved pregnancy retention rates after IVP embryo transfer as smaller ICM sizes are associated with poor pregnancy success in cattle.