Effect of red light on the development and quality of mammalian embryos

Purpose

To assess irradiance and total energy dose from different microscopes during the in-vitro embryonic developmental cycle in mouse and pig and to evaluate its effect on embryonic development and quality in pig.

Method

Spectral scalar irradiance (380–1050 nm) was measured by a fiber-optic microsensor in the focal plane of a dissection microscope, an inverted microscope and a time-lapse incubation system. Furthermore, the effect of three different red light levels was tested in the time-lapse system on mouse zygotes for 5 days, and on porcine zona-intact and zona-free parthenogenetically activated (PA) embryos for 6 days.

Results

The time-lapse system used red light centered at 625 nm and with a lower irradiance level as compared to the white light irradiance levels on the dissection and inverted microscopes, which included more energetic radiation <550 nm. Even after 1000 times higher total energy dose of red light exposure in the time-lapse system, no significant difference was found neither in blastocyst development of mouse zygotes nor in blastocyst rates and total cell number of blastocysts of porcine PA embryos.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that red light (625 nm, 0.34 W/m²) used in the time-lapse incubation system does not decrease the development and quality of blastocysts in both mouse zygotes and porcine PA embryos (both zona-intact and zona-free).