The present work has investigated the degeneration rate of goat primordial follicles in situ after preservation in PBS or TCM 199 at different temperatures and incubation times. For each animal the ovarian pair was divided into 19 fragments. One ovarian fragment was taken randomly and immediately fixed (control). The other 18 ovarian fragments were randomly distributed in tubes containing PBS or TCM 199 and stored at 4º, 20º or 39ºC for 4, 12 or 24h. The storage of ovarian fragments in PBS or TCM 199 at 20ºC for 12h and 24h or at 39ºC, in all incubation times tested, increased significantly the percentage of degenerated primordial follicles (P<0.05). In contrast, for both media tested the degeneration rate of primordial follicles preserved at 4ºC for up to 24h and at 20ºC for 4h was similar to control values (P>0.05). In conclusion, this study shows that PBS was as efficient as TCM 199 in the preservation of goat primordial follicles in situ, being the best results observed at 4ºC.
primordial follicles; degeneration; goat; preservation
