Cell allocation in bovine embryos cultured in two media under two oxygen concentrations

Blastocyst development, total cell number and allocation to inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) lineages was compared among day 9 hatched blastocysts from four culture treatments in a two-factor design. Two modified commercial media (KSOM and SOF) were used in atmospheres with two oxygen concentrations (5% and 20% O₂). No significant effect of medium on development was found, but 20% O₂ increased hatching (p < 0.05). There were more cells in hatched blastocysts cultured in KSOM than in SOF (181 vs 136, respectively; p < 0.0001); however, ICM/total cell ratio was not affected by medium. There was a trend suggesting that the proportion of cells allocated to ICM was lower in hatched blastocysts cultured under 5% O₂ compared with 20% O₂ (0.323 vs 0.380, respectively; p < 0.1). No significant interactions between medium type and oxygen concentration were found. These results indicate that culture components used in this study may affect cell proliferation without altering cell allocation, and that oxygen concentration may play a role in allocation of cells to ICM and TE lineages.