Doctoral Program in Biological Sciences and Health, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, México City, Mexico.
Anim Reprod Sci. 2012 Aug;133(3-4):129-38. doi: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2012.07.003. Epub 2012 Jul 20.
Small ruminants are an important component of the global production systems of meat and wool, and their reproductive biology is well known. However, the incorporation of assisted reproduction techniques (ART) in the production systems of small ruminants is not as well developed as for other domestic species. Normally, production systems that incorporate ARTs are restricted to artificial insemination or in vivo embryo transfer. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is one of the ARTs techniques reported for small ruminants and consists of the injection of spermatozoa inside an oocyte, bypassing the natural process of sperm-oocyte interaction. In goats and sheep, there are few live births by ICSI reported, with no reports from other species of small ruminants. Currently, there has not been intensive research about ICSI in small ruminants. However, ICSI has potentially important applications in animal production systems, primarily its use with semen of valued animals, with epididymal sperm, in the fertilization of prepubertal or cryopreserved oocytes. Other applications include more advanced techniques, such as transgenic-ICSI or its combination with spermatogonial transplantation. In this article, we review the "state of the art" of this technique in small ruminants including its historical development, research needs for its improvement and future applications.
小型反刍动物是全球肉类和羊毛生产系统的重要组成部分，其生殖生物学已广为人知。然而，辅助生殖技术（ART）在小型反刍动物生产系统中的应用并不像其他家畜那样发达。通常，采用 ARTs 的生产系统仅限于人工授精或体内胚胎移植。胞浆内精子注射（ICSI）是已报道的用于小型反刍动物的一种 ART 技术，它包括将精子注入卵母细胞内，绕过精子-卵母细胞自然相互作用的过程。在山羊和绵羊中，通过 ICSI 报道的活产很少，其他小型反刍动物也没有报道。目前，关于小型反刍动物的 ICSI 研究并不密集。然而，ICSI 在动物生产系统中有潜在的重要应用，主要是用有价值动物的精液、附睾精子，对未成熟或冷冻保存的卵母细胞进行受精。其他应用包括更先进的技术，如转基因 ICSI 或与精原细胞移植相结合。在本文中，我们综述了该技术在小型反刍动物中的“最新进展”，包括其历史发展、改进的研究需求和未来的应用。
