Animal Reproduction Science 116 (2009) 169–172 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Animal Reproduction Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/anireprosci Short communication Developmental competence of domestic cat oocytes from ovaries stored at various durations at 4 ◦ C temperature Mithat Evecen, Ümüt Cirit ∗ , Kamber Demir, Elif Karaman, Asiye ˙ Izem Hamzao˘ glu, Gül Bakırer Department of Reproduction and Artificial Insemination, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University, 34320 Avcilar, Istanbul, Turkey article info Article history: Received 27 October 2008 Received in revised form 7 January 2009 Accepted 19 January 2009 Available online 24 January 2009 Keywords: Cat Ovary Cold storage Oocyte In vitro maturation abstract Temporal storage of ovaries can provide opportunity to rescue oocytes from ovaries of endangered felids. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of different storage periods (2, 24 and 48 h) of ovaries at 4 ◦ C for maturation of cat oocytes in vitro. Ovaries were collected from 25 domestic cats at various stages of the estrous cycle by routine ovariohysterectomy following anesthesia at different local veterinary clinics, and maintained in physiological saline at 4 ◦ C for 2, 24 or 48 h until oocytes recovery. Selected COCs were maturated at 38 ◦ C for 48 h in four-well petri dishes, which included 500 L modified synthetic oviduct fluid (mSOF) medium under mineral oil in a humidified 5% CO 2 , 5% O 2 , and 90% N 2 atmo- sphere incubator. After the in vitro maturation period, there were no differences between the rate of oocytes matured at MII stages in 2 and 24h storage groups (50.7% and 48.2% respectively, p > 0.05). However, the same result for the 48 h group was significantly lower than the 2 and 24 h groups (28.0%, p < 0.001). Our results suggest that while 2 or 24h storage of ovaries at 4 ◦ C does not affect the meiotic competence of oocytes in vitro, 48 h storage of ovaries decrease the results dramatically. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Most of the 36 species of wild cats are classified as threatened, vulnerable or endangered due to habitat loss. In both domestic and non-domestic cat species, the biotechnologies as in vitro maturation ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +90 212 473 70 70 (17264); fax: +90 212 473 72 41. E-mail address: ucirit@istanbul.edu.tr (Ü. Cirit). 0378-4320/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2009.01.006