. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. REPORTS FROM THE MBL GENERAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS Reference: Biol. Bull. 195: 20X-209. (October. 1998) Characterization of Oxygen and Calcium Fluxes From Early Mouse Embryos and Oocytes D. M. Porterfield\ J. R. Trimarchi2. D. L. Keefe2\ and P. J. S. Smith1 Despite the importance of the mammalian embryo to clinical and biomedical sciences, the physiology of pre-implantation embryos and oocytes is largely unexplored. For example, al- though calcium is known to participate in the early events of fertilization (1) and also plays
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. REPORTS FROM THE MBL GENERAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS Reference: Biol. Bull. 195: 20X-209. (October. 1998) Characterization of Oxygen and Calcium Fluxes From Early Mouse Embryos and Oocytes D. M. Porterfield\ J. R. Trimarchi2. D. L. Keefe2\ and P. J. S. Smith1 Despite the importance of the mammalian embryo to clinical and biomedical sciences, the physiology of pre-implantation embryos and oocytes is largely unexplored. For example, al- though calcium is known to participate in the early events of fertilization (1) and also plays a brief but critical role at each cleavage (2, 3), the regulation of transmembrane calcium flux during the interim between cleavages or during blastocoel for- mation is unknown. One reason for this gap in our knowledge lies in the difficulty in studying a single oocyte or embryo. The goal of the project reported here is to take advantage of new techniques for monitoring physiological parameters from indi- vidual cells and to begin to characterize changes in embryo physiology during development. This work is part of larger study on the viability of the pre-implantation embryo. The self-referencing electrode technique (4) pioneered by the BioCurrents Research Center at the MBL is ideal for exploring the physiology of the early embryo. The technique allows the derivation of flux values by measuring the concentrations of free ions or dissolved oxygen at two probe positions microme- ters apart, where the electrode is moved in a square wave oscilla- tion. One pole of this oscillation is brought close to the zona pellucida (within about 1 /jm). With this approach, physiologi- cal measurements can be obtained from individual oocytes or embryos. Being noninvasive, the self-referencing electrode can be used to record from oocytes or developing embryos without perturbation, an assumption recently confirmed by the success- ful birth of implanted, post-experimental blastocysts (Trimarchi an
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