Effects of embryonic manipulation and epigenetics
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Manipulation and In Vitro Maturation of Xenopus laevis Oocytes, Followed by Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, to Study Embryonic Development
Published on: February 9, 2015
1Department of Epigenetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. tkohda.epgn@tmd.ac.jp
Abstract:
Embryonic manipulation techniques, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), are widely used in assisted reproductive technology (ART), livestock propagation and application in other fields. Fertilization with IVF and ICSI have been shown to be highly effective, and the mice produced by these techniques develop healthily and with a normal appearance. However, there remains a possibility of epigenetic changes being induced by these techniques. The early stage of mammalian development from fertilization to implantation is a period in which global changes in the epigenetic landscape take place. The sperm and oocyte epigenetic profiles are very different from each other, and the epigenetic remodeling process after fertilization exhibits allelic differences. It is during this period that embryonic manipulation is performed. In this review, I discuss the effects of embryonic manipulation procedures in relation to the epigenetic asymmetry that is present in mammalian early development. Such regulation in the preimplantation embryo provides an important insight into epigenetics.
Related Concept Videos
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Epigenetic Regulation
Epigenetic Regulation
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Methods of Nuclear Reprogramming
CRISPR

