Fatty Acids as Energy Sources for Culture of One-Cell Rabbit Ova to Viable Morulae

Abstract

Fertilized 1-cell rabbit ova were cultured for 2 days in a simple salt solution supplemented with defatted bovine serum albumin alone or with additions of pyruvate or of a single fatty acid. The fatty acids used consisted of 6 long chain fatty acids (myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acid) and 4 short chain acids (acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric acid). After 2 days culture, the proportion of ova developing to morulae was recorded and the ova were transferred to a complete medium for an additional 3 days to allow possible development to the blastocyst stage as a check on the viability of the morulae. The presence of pyruvate or certain fatty acids was necessary for growth to viable morulae. All of the long chain fatty acids except arachidonic supported good development. Arachidonic acid was toxic to the ova. Of the short chain fatty acids, propionic and to a lesser extent, acetic acid supported moderate growth, whereas butyric and valeric acid did not support growth. Fatty acids may function as energy sources for rabbit ova. This technique of growing ova on particular fatty acids may cause modification of the phospholipid composition of the ovum membranes which would facilitate studies of the effect of variation in phospholipids on ovum membrane structure and function.