Effect of vitrification using the Cryotop method on the gene expression profile of in vitro-produced bovine embryos. Bos indicus

Changes in gene expression induced by the Cryotop vitrification procedure in bovine blastocysts using Agilent EmbryoGENE microarray slides. Bovine in vitro-produced embryos at the blastocyst stage (144 to 156 hours post insemination) were vitrified using the Cryotop system and compared with non-vitrified (control) embryos. After vitrification, the embryos were warmed and cultured for an additional 4 hours. Embryos that re-expanded or developed to the expanded blastocyst stage were used for microarray analysis. Overall design: Four pools of vitrified embryos were hybridized against four pools of control embryos in a dye-swap design.