Caracterização microbiológica de carcaças de frangos de corte produzidas no estado de Minas Gerais / Microbiological characterization of broiler carcasses produced in the state of Minas Gerais

In order to evaluate the microbiological quality of broiler chickens produced in Minas Gerais State, 240 samples of broiler carcasses from the five regions of the Minas Gerais State were collected, by official inspection services, for one year. The samples were submitted to counts of total and thermotolerant coliforms, coagulase-positive and negative Staphylococcus, besides Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, E.coli O157:H7, and Salmonella spp. resource. The results showed the presence of total and thermotolerant coliforms in 34.2% and 13.5% of broiler carcasses evaluated, respectively. All tested samples were positive for Staphylococcus spp., 9.1% for Salmonella spp., 15.5% for Listeria monocytogenes, and 2.1% for Campylobacter spp. E.coli O157:H7 was not isolated from the samples.(AU)

Birth of pups after transfer of mouse embryos derived from vitrified preantral follicles.

Preantral follicles mechanically isolated from the ovaries of 12-day-old mice were exposed to 2 mol ethylene glycol l(-1) for 2 or 5 min and then to a vitrification solution containing 6 mol ethylene glycol l(-1) and 0.3 mol raffinose l(-1) for 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 min before vitrification. The vitrified and fresh preantral follicles were treated with collagenase, and the oocyte-granulosa cell complexes (OGCs) obtained were cultured in vitro for 10 days in membrane inserts. Preantral follicles exposed to 2 mol ethylene glycol l(-1) for 5 min and then to the vitrification solution for 0.5 or 1.0 min showed the highest survival rates after warming. The follicular loss after warming was approximately 20%. After in vitro culture, the proportion of viable OGCs from the vitrified follicles was 10% lower than that of the fresh preantral follicles. There were no differences in the rates of maturation, fertilization and subsequent development to blastocysts between the oocytes derived from vitrified follicles and those derived from fresh preantral follicles; however, the developmental competence of the oocytes derived from both vitrified and fresh preantral follicles grown in vitro was lower than that of oocytes grown in vivo. One of the five recipient mice that received 20 blastocysts derived from vitrified preantral follicles gave birth to six live pups. The results of the present study demonstrate for the first time that mouse preantral follicles can be vitrified and that some of the embryos derived from vitrified preantral follicles can develop to live pups.

Vitrification of mouse oocytes in ethylene glycol-raffinose solution: effects of preexposure to ethylene glycol or raffinose on oocyte viability.

We investigated the effects of preexposure to ethylene glycol (EG) or raffinose on the viability of vitrified mouse oocytes. Ovulated oocytes at the metaphase II stage were preexposed either to 2 M EG for 0, 2, or 5 min or to ascending concentrations (0.15 followed by 0.3 M ) of raffinose solution for 2, 5, or 10 min each (here referred to as 2-2, 5-5, and 10-10 min, respectively). The oocytes were then exposed to a vitrification solution (VS), 6 M EG + 0.3 M raffinose, for 0.5, 1, 2, or 5 min and then vitrified or immediately diluted. After warming, the developmental capacity of oocytes was determined after in vitro fertilization. Volume changes in oocytes during preexposures and exposure to the VS were also investigated. The results demonstrated that preexposure to 2 M EG allowed shorter exposure times of oocytes to the VS and that predehydration in raffinose solutions for 5-5, but not 2-2 or 10-10 min, allowed a wider range of exposure times to the VS. Experiments on volume change suggested that the optimum time of exposure to the VS depends on the amount of EG permeation after preexposure to 2 M EG or to raffinose solutions. Preexposures to 2 M EG or raffinose under optimized conditions increased the viability of vitrified-warmed oocytes compared to direct exposure to VS without preexposures.

In vitro viability of mouse oocytes vitrified in an ethylene glycol-based solution.

Ovulated mouse oocytes denuded of their cumulus cells, were vitrified in a solution containing 7 M ethylene glycol as the sole cryoprotectant using one or two steps of exposure before vitrification and were diluted in 1 M sucrose solution in 5 or 10 min after warming. The results proved that the viability of oocytes are detrimentally affected by exposure to the vitrification solution even without vitrification. At 5 min dilution time, the two-step exposure was superior to the one-step in terms of the post-warming recovery rate of vitrified oocytes with normal morphology and their subsequent development to the blastocyst stage (p < 0.01) after fertilization in vitro. At 10 min dilution time, no significant difference between one- or two-step exposure was found. The effect of the addition of 0.5 M sucrose to the vitrification solution was also determined and did not result in a significant improvement in the viability of oocytes vitrified in one-step and diluted for 10 min. In conclusion, the results in this study indicate that oocytes can be vitrified with 7 M ethylene glycol as the sole cryoprotectant in the vitrification solution, and that the recovery of normal oocytes after one-step exposure in the vitrification solution can be improved by 10 min dilution time. However, the improvement in the recovery rate of oocytes with normal morphology and their subsequent developmental in vitro was not improved by the addition of 0.5 M sucrose to the vitrification solution.