Amstislavsky Sergei, Aalto Jussi, Järvinen Mikko, Lindeberg Heli, Valtonen Maija, Zudova Galina, Ternovskaya Yulia
Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Division, 630090, prosp. Lavrentjeva 10, Novosibirsk, Russia.
Theriogenology. 2004 Aug;62(3-4):458-67. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2003.10.011.
The European mink is considered as a highly endangered Mustelidae species. The objective of this study was to explore the intriguing possibility of embryo transfer from European mink to closely related Mustelidae recipient females. To overcome interspecies pregnancy failure, embryos of European mink (Mustela lutreola) were transferred into hybrid females obtained after mating of European polecat (Mustela putorius) males and European mink (M. lutreola) females and vice versa. A total of 32 blastocysts were surgically flushed from the uteri of nine European mink donors and surgically transferred into six pseudopregnant hybrid recipients. One of the recipients received a single embryo and did not whelp. The remaining five recipients each received five to eight embryos and delivered kits. The overall success rate was 50% (16 kits/32 transferred embryos). For both male and female offspring, the average birth weight was lower in ET group when compared with naturally bred control population of European mink. The postnatal mortality rate was significantly higher in ET group as compared to controls: only 9 of 16 kits survived past the first week. At 10 days of age, the average weight for male offspring from the ET and control groups did not differ, although differences still persisted at this age for female offspring. At 3 months of age, the weight of male and female offspring in the ET group did not differ from European minks born after natural mating. We propose that transfer of European mink embryos to hybrid recipients be considered as a new experimental tool within the framework of ex situ approach conservation of this aboriginal European mustelid.
欧洲水貂被视为一种极度濒危的鼬科物种。本研究的目的是探索将欧洲水貂胚胎移植到亲缘关系密切的鼬科受体雌性动物体内这一有趣的可能性。为克服种间妊娠失败的问题，将欧洲水貂（Mustela lutreola）的胚胎移植到欧洲鸡貂（Mustela putorius）雄性与欧洲水貂（M. lutreola）雌性交配后获得的杂种雌性动物体内，反之亦然。总共从9只欧洲水貂供体的子宫中通过手术冲洗出32个囊胚，并通过手术将其移植到6只假孕杂种受体体内。其中一只受体接受了单个胚胎，未产仔。其余5只受体各接受了5至8个胚胎并产下了幼崽。总体成功率为50%（16只幼崽/32个移植胚胎）。对于雄性和雌性后代，与欧洲水貂自然繁殖的对照群体相比，胚胎移植（ET）组的平均出生体重较低。与对照组相比，ET组的产后死亡率显著更高：16只幼崽中只有9只存活超过第一周。在10日龄时，ET组雄性后代的平均体重与对照组没有差异，尽管此时雌性后代仍存在差异。在3月龄时，ET组雄性和雌性后代的体重与自然交配出生的欧洲水貂没有差异。我们建议，在对这种欧洲原生鼬科动物进行迁地保护的框架内，将欧洲水貂胚胎移植到杂种受体体内可被视为一种新的实验工具。
