5-Dimensional High-Resolution non-invasive assessment of mammalian Embryos (5DHiResE)

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The global population will rise from 7 to 9 billion by 2050 with an increasing pressure on natural resources. Diets are also changing towards more meat and dairy products meaning that there is increasing global demand for food, land, energy, water and other resources, e.g. phosphate fertilisers. The livestock sector is challenged to find new ways of accommodating this need while agriculture is competing for resources as urbanisation and industrialisation put more pressure on land use. It is routine practice for pig and cattle breeding companies to transport animals to countries with underdeveloped breeding programs to enhance the quality of their local breeds. Such procedures however have a high cost financially, environmentally and logistically, and raise ethical concerns, despite evidence-based assurances of the companies involved. These factors have resulted in the in vitro production (IVP) of pig and cattle embryos being of increased interest to producers, given that great financial and environmental benefits could be made. Pigs and cattle account for ~60% of meat and ~85% of milk consumption and speed and efficiency at which genetic improvement can be introduced can be much improved through the use of these embryos. It also allows us to facilitate the national and international transport of genetically superior stock in a high animal-welfare, low-cost and bio-secure manner. This is an issue of great global significance, particularly to the industrial partners involved in this application. Significant improvements are however essential to realise the potential of pig and cattle embryos for this use. While cattle (and to some extent pig) IVP continues along a parallel path to human IVF, success rates are relatively low compared to human. Novel and innovative approaches developed with animal embryos in mind from the outset are thus urgently needed and these may, in turn, ultimately inform future developments in human IVF. Most modern human IVF units now own devices that are both incubator and camera for monitoring embryo development and some studies show that their use improves birth rates. While we have made significant strides in this area for pigs and cattle, the imaging is limited, in part because pig and cattle embryos are harder to see because of their high fat content. To improve this, we have recently made use of a new technique called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). This provides a 3D image of the embryo and we can extend the analysis into 4 and 5 dimensions to look at how "active" the embryos are (this is called tiny movement analysis - TMA) and how "elastic" the embryos are (using OCT for elastography measurements). In essence, we will ask the question whether embryos that are "better looking"(in 3D) more "lively" (TMA) and more "elastic" are more likely to survive. This is a cross-disciplinary collaboration between Biosciences and Physical Sciences and complements the work we have ongoing to improve pig and cattle IVP generally. The proposal builds on the widespread acceptance of time lapse imaging systems in IVF clinics but augments it from 2 to 5 dimensional analysis. It builds on the world leading expertise of two very different disciplines at Kent. Recent research has shown that 2D monitoring can significantly improve human IVF. We intend to demonstrate whether 5D monitoring can improve the equivalent process in pigs and cattle.