Zygote
- Zygote / Volume 4 / Issue 04 / November 1996, pp 275-278
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0967199400003221 (About DOI), Published online: 26 September 2008
Article
Tolerance of oocyte plasma membrane to electric current changes after fertilisation
Tan Jing-hea1 c1, Liu Zhong-huaa1, Sun Xing-shena1 and He Gui-xina1
a1 Department of Animal science, Northeat Agricultural University, Harbin, China.
Summary
The tolerance of the oocyte plasma membrane (oolemma) to electrical pulses (TEP) was investigated for oocytes, zygotes, and embryos at the early and late 2-cell stage. The oocyte survival rate after two electrical pulses (1.4KV/cm for 640μs each) was used as an indicator of the TEP of the oolemma. Survival rate of mid-pronuclear zygotes (94.3%±2.3%) was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of recently ovulated (2.1%±1.9%) and in vivo aged (25.1%±2.6%) oocytes; survival rate of in vivo aged oocytes was also significantly higher than that of recently ovulated oocytes. Soon after fertilisation, the survival rate of the oocytes markedly increased, up to 94% at the mid-pronuclear stage. Survival ratedropped thereafter. These results suggest that the characteristics of the oocyte plasma membrane (oolemma) change after fertilisation.
(Received August 10 1996)
(Accepted October 02 1996)
Keywords
Correspondence:
c1 Dr Jing-he Tan, Department of Animal scince, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, china 150030.
