Cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) circumvents processes that normally function during gametogenesis to prepare the gamete genomes to support development of new progeny following fertilization. One such process is enhanced maintenance of genetic integrity in germ cells, such that germ cells typically carry fewer spontaneously acquired mutations than somatic cells in the same indivi...

Buffalo are characteristic livestock of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China, but their low reproductive capacity necessitates the use of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). We investigated the effects of RG108 on DNA methylation in buffalo adult fibroblasts, and on subsequent SCNT embryo development. RG108 treatment (0, 5, 10, 20, and 100 mM) had no effect on cell morphology, viabil...

Background Melatonin (N-acetyl-5- methoxytryptamine) is mainly synthesized and secreted in the pineal gland, ovary, testes, bone marrow, retina and lens in mammalian species. It is involved in the detoxification of ROS and protects embryos from oxidative damage. Melatonin acts as a potential free radical scavenger, including peroxyl radical and hydroxyl radical. In addition, it can stimulate th...

Background: Development of cloned bovine embryos. Materials and Methods: Oocytes collection,oocyte denudation, oocyte enucleation, nuclear transfer, electrofusion, reconstructed embryo activation, culture of reconstructed and IVF embryo,and treatment with SAH post fusion interval Treatment of reconstructed embryos with TSA for 12 hours after activation, preparation of somatic donor cells, donor...

SETD2 (SET domain containing protein 2) acts as a histone H3 lysine 36 (H3K36)-specific methyltransferase and may play important roles in active gene transcription in human cells. However, its expression and role in porcine oocytes and preimplantation embryos are not well understood. Here, we used immunofluorescence and laser scanning confocal microscopy to examine SETD2 expression in porcine f...

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is considered to be a critical tool for propagating valuable animals. To determine the productivity calves resulting from embryos derived with different culture media, enucleated oocytes matured in vitro were reconstructed with fetal fibroblasts, fused, and activated. The cloned embryos were cultured in modified synthetic oviduct fluid (mSOF) or a chemically...

Background: At the outset of the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) process, the chromatin structure of the somatic cell which governs its state of differentiation undergoes dramatic changes, called reprogramming, and is compelled back to the embryonic stage. However, the overall epigenetic makeup of the resultant cloned embryos has been acknowledged far different from the fertilized embryos....

While reprogramming a foreign nucleus after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the enucleated oocyte (ooplasm) must signal that biomass and cellular requirements changed compared to the nucleus donor cell. Using cells expressing nuclear-encoded but mitochondria-targeted EGFP, a strategy was developed to directly distinguish maternal and embryonic products, testing ooplasm demands on transcri...

This study examined effects on the developmental competence of pig oocytes after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) or parthenogenetic activation (PA) of : 1) co-culturing of oocytes with follicular shell pieces (FSP) during in vitro maturation (IVM); 2) different durations of maturation; and 3) defined maturation medium supplemented with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA; control), pig follicular fluid...

During reprogramming, there is exchange of histone H1c and the oocyte-specific linker histone, and H1c may play a critically important role in the reprogramming process of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of the H1c gene in SCNT reprogramming in Chinese swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) using RNA interference (RNAi). Chinese swamp buff...