Analysis of the sex-chromosome constitution of digynic triploid mouse embryos

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Abstract
LT/Sv strain mice regularly ovulate up to 50% of their eggs as primary oocytes, which are fertilisable and give rise to digynic triploid embryos. A similar number of eggs are ovulated as secondary oocytes and, following fertilisation, give rise to normal diploid embryos. Pregnant LT/Sv females were autopsied at about midday on day 10 of gestation, when normal diploid embryos would be expected to possess between 25 and 30 pairs of somites. While a few of the triploid embryos either consisted of disorganised embryonic masses or were resorbing, most were at readily recognisable embryonic stages. Just over half of the embryos recovered were “unturned,” while the remainder had “turned” and possessed between 15 and 25 pairs of somites. The triploids were usually readily recognised, owing to their small size and because they often displayed neural tube and cardiac defects. All of the embryos recovered were analysed cytogenetically by G-banding to establish their ploidy and sex-chromosome constitution. The XY:XX sex ratio of the 105 diploid embryos recovered, all of which had “turned,” was 1.06:1 while the overall XXY: XXX sex ratio of the 120 triploids was 1:1. Analysis of only the developmentally most advanced triploid embryos (i.e., the 49 that had “turned”) revealed that the XXY: XXX sex ratio in this group was 1.13:1, which was not significantly different from the expected ratio of 1:1. The crown-rump lengths of the XY and XX “turned” embryos were almost identical, as were those of the XXY and XXX “turned” embryos, although the triploids were significantly smaller than the diploids. No obvious effect of sex-chromosome constitution on developmental potential was therefore observed in this study in relation to either the digynic triploid or the control diploid embryos.