Effect of quality of buffalo oocytes on their maturation rate in vitro

The present investigation was undertaken to study effect of quality of buff alo oocytes on their maturation rate in vitro. Nearly 70 % of the good qual ity oocytes reached metaphase-II (M-II) and the corresponding figures for a verage and poor quality oocytes were 60 and 22 % respectively. A significan tly higher percentage of poor quality oocytes was either arrested at M-I or degenerated at the end of culture. The importance of the surrounding cumul us cells of the oocytes for their maturation was confirmed when the good qu ality oocytes were denuded off their surrounding cumulus cells and allowed to grow in vitro. Only 41% of such oocytes could reach M-II. However, when these good quality but artificially denuded oocytes were cultured along wit h extra cumulus cells the maturation percentage increased up to 70 %.