Frozen Okinawa Rail Sperm Produces Embryo That Developed Near Hatching
LIFEUnverifiedUpdated:
A research group reports that sperm frozen from the critically endangered Okinawa rail produced a fertilized egg after artificial insemination, with embryonic development continuing until near hatching; no chick hatched.
Fertilization with thawed sperm and development to day 21
The group reports freezing Okinawa rail sperm with a storage solution containing N-methylacetamide, a cryoprotectant that helps protect cells during freezing. After thawing the sperm and carrying out artificial insemination, it collected a fertilized egg.
The group reports that the embryo developed to day 21 of incubation, near hatching, and that parentage testing linked fertilization to the frozen sperm. The chick did not hatch because it could not break the shell successfully.
The research group describes frozen storage of Okinawa rail sperm as a first success, but the supplied record provides no independently verified comparative outcome data.
According to the research report, thawed frozen sperm was used for artificial insemination, yielding a fertilized egg whose embryo developed through day 21 of incubation, close to hatching. The egg did not hatch.
No hatched chick was produced
If reproduced and developed further, the reported result would show that frozen sperm can be used in artificial insemination for this endangered bird. It has not yet demonstrated the production of a hatched chick from frozen sperm.
Sources
- 国立環境研究所 研究成果ヤンバルクイナ精子の凍結保存に成功、 人工授精後の卵の発生を確認 ~絶滅危惧鳥類の人工繁殖への応用に期待~Read source →