Follicular Components Determining the Developmental Competence of Oocytes and Embryos in Vitro

Dear Colleagues,

For the last few decades, domestic animals have been extensively studied in terms of reproduction and development of efficient in vitro fertilization techniques. One of the main goals was to decipher the mechanisms of early embryo development and describe the factors which shape developmental competence. Due to huge success in the development of modern high-throughput techniques in the past decade, which enable the analysis of cells at single cell level as well as variety of “omics” with high sensitivity, researchers may analyze gametes and embryos at an unprecedented scale. However, the use of assisted reproductive techniques or in vitro culture is not as effective in all species. The differences in media composition, supplements or gamete coincubation time exist. Different developmental kinetics, the moment of implantation together with multiple milestone events in preimplantation development such as genome activation, cell differentiation, methylation, etc. makes the analysis of oocyte and embryo biology complex and challenging. Today, the environment has been shown to play a pivotal role in shaping the developmental competence of oocytes and embryos. This concerns follicular fluid composition as well as metabolism and bidirectional crosstalk of the oocyte and cumulus cells. Proteomic and transcriptomic profiles, extracellular vesicles, microRNA regulation, energy, and lipid metabolism are just a few examples of extrinsic factors influencing the in vitro embryo culture efficiency. Developmental programming and embryo plasticity support the growth, cleavage, and cell divisions; however, the question arises about the true predictive potential of examined factors in terms of fertilization rate, embryo yield or pregnancy outcomes. In this Special Issue, we welcome all high-quality research-based manuscripts describing the fundamental role of external factors which may serve as a marker of oocyte and embryo quality.

Dr. Piotr Pawlak
Dr. Ewelina Warzych-Plejer
Guest Editors

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