Culture of in vitro fertilized rabbit ova

Embryonic development of in-vitro fertilized rabbit ova was assessed following in-vitro culture in four different serum supplemented media. A mixture of Basal Medium Eagle (BME) and Ham's F10 medium (1:1) provided better support for in-vitro development than Ham's F10, BME, or regular acidic saline (RAS). In-vitro embryonic development in the BME/Ham's F10 mixture was synchronous with in-vivo development through at least 55 hr of culture. After 54 hr of culture, embryos transferred to the oviduct of a synchronous pseudopregnant recipient were able to implant at the same rate as simultaneously transferred embryos grown in vivo. BME/Ham's F10 supplemented with 10% newborn calf serum was highly supportive of rabbit embryo development following in-vitro fertilization.