Transgenic RNAi-mediated reduction of LZP3 in Lagurus lagurus oocytes results in decreased fertilization ability in IVF

Structural differences in oligosaccharides on mammalian zona pellucida 3(ZP3) from different species may determine whether or not spermatozoa being able to bind to ZP. We reported here that by microinjecting the siRNA interference recombinant construct pGenesil-ZP31 encoding a Lagurus zp3 (lzp3) hairpin dsRNA of 21 bp into the inmatured oocytes of Lagurus lagurus, distributed in northern region of Xingjiang, to disturb its fertility. Results of in vitro fertilization after in vitro maturation of the immature oocytes of Lagurus lagurus showed that the fertilization rate of the transgenic oocytes carried pGenesil-ZP31 was decreased greatly (2.82%) compared to the oocytes carried pGenesil-HK (15.71%), suggesting that the transgenic RNAi-mediated silencing of lzp3 in Lagurus lagurus oocytes results in decreased fertilization ability. These results proved that LZP3 of Lagurus lagurus, like other mammalians, is essential for the recognition between oocyte and spermatozoa.