The relative abundance of maternal transcripts among bovine oocytes in vivo matured or under different in vitro conditions was compared. Viability of cumulus cells of in vitro matured oocytes was also evaluated. For in vivo maturation, oocytes were recovered from 19 to 20h after gonadorelin injection in donor cows, which were previously superestimulated with FSH and synchronized with progesterone implant. For in vitro maturation, immature cumulus-oocyte complexes, obtained from ovaries collected at slaughterhouse, were matured under different oxygen tensions and protein supplementation. Relative amount of Zar1, MATER, and GDF9 transcrispts were analyzed by real time PCR. Cumulus cell viability was analyzed by trypan blue. The expression of maternal effect genes were down-regulated (P<0.05) in oocytes matured under different in vitro conditions when compared to those in vivo matured. There was no difference (P>0.05) on cumulus cell viability among different in vitro maturation conditions. In conclusion, different maturation conditions affect the relative abundance of maternal transcripts stored into oocyte cytoplasm
cattle; in vitro maturation; gene expression; maternal effect gene; serum; oxygen
