Cleavage Rate of in vitro Matured Oocytes Fertilized with Conventional Semen in Buffaloes

Background: In vitro embryo production in buffaloes has gained much importance in this current scenario due to ever increasing population and high demand of milk and meat. Slaughter house derived bubaline ovaries are a cheap and abundant source of cumulus oocyte complexes. Methods: Oocytes from the buffalo ovarian follicles were recovered by aspiration technique as it facilitates quick recovery. Total 155 ovaries were used in the present study. Surface follicles were measured using vernier calliper and categorized into three groups viz. < 3 mm, 3-5 mm and > 5 mm based on follicular diameter and oocytes were processed for IVM, IVF and IVC using conventional non sorted semen. Result: Overall percentage of small, medium and large follicles in the ovaries were recorded as 16.29 +/- 0.94%, 8.14 +/- 0.60%, 5.35 +/- 0.76%, respectively. Overall recovery rate of COCs was 38%. The percentage of these oocytes were 16.74% (A), 15.25% (B), 25.26% (C), 18.33% (D) and 29.87% (E) respectively. Maturation rate of oocytes were 81.96 +/- 2.70%. Fertilization rate was 74.98 +/- 3.87%, Cleavage rate % was 40.84 +/- 2.51% and Blastocyst percentage was 21.57 +/- 1.75% respectively. Application of in vitro embryo production technique using slaughter house ovaries can salvage the genetic potential of bubaline species.