In Vivo and In Vitro Dromedary Camel Embryos’ Production under Egyptian Conditions

The aim of the present study was to compare between in vivo and in vitro production of dromedary camel embryos under Egyptian conditions. At in vivo experiment, three female camels (donors) were treated with a one-shot injection of 3000 IU PMSG, followed by induction of ovulation treatment (i.m. administration of 5000 IU hCG). Natural mating was performed after 8 days from the superovulation treatment. Embryos were flushed via non-surgical collection after eight days of animal mating. For in vitro experiment the oocytes were retrieved by slicing ovaries collected from the slaughterhouse. Recovered oocytes were examined before and after IVM culture for grading and investigating cytoplasmic maturation. Only good-quality oocytes were selected (n=72).  Cumulus oocytes complexes (COCs) were incubated at 38.5 oC, 5% CO2 and 95% humidity for 40 hours. Matured COCs were inseminated with frozen-thawed semen (3x106 spermatozoa/mL) in the fert-TALP medium at 38.5 oC, 5% CO2 and 95% humidity for 18 hours. Results showed that the in vivo embryos recovery rate was 74.92%. The hormonal treatment had no significant effect on the activity of ovaries regarding ovarian side. For in vitro experiment the mean oocyte yield was 9.83 COCs per ovary and the recovery rate (%) was 37.5%. The maturation rate of dromedary oocytes in vitro was 72.72%, while the fertilization rate was 11.5%. In conclusion, this study showed that in vivo embryo production can be considered as an effective tool for embryo in dromedary camels when compared to embryo production in vitro.