Biopsy of Equine Embryos with the Eppendorf PiezoXpert® for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Biopsy of equine embryos at the early/expanded blastocyst stage is a rather complex procedure, essentially due to the presence of a distinctive capsule in the perivitelline space that is extraordinarily resistant and difficult to penetrate using conventional micromanipulation methods. In addition, this embryonic capsule has been considered essential for the embryo survival and, until recently, many doubts persisted about whether it could be breached without impairing the viability of the biopsied embryo. Recent studies, however, suggested that encapsulated equine blastocysts could be biopsied using a piezo-actuated micropipette that allows creating a small hole in the capsule to collect trophectoderm cells for genetic analysis without compromising their further viability. In this Userguide, the biopsy procedure of encapsulated equine embryos is described using the new device from Eppendorf for piezoassisted manipulation, the Eppendorf PiezoXpert, in combination with the Eppendorf TransferMan NK 2 micromanipulation workstation. Biopsy of Equine Embryos with the Eppendorf PiezoXpert® for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis