ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Reproduction - Theriogenology
This article is part of the Research TopicTIAR 2025: Advances in Animal ReproductionView all 8 articles
Comparative Developmental Competence and Gene Expression in Laparoscopically Retrieved-and Abattoir-Derived Goat Oocytes
Provisionally accepted
Abrar A Malik*
RIAZ SHAH
Syed Hilal Yaqoob
Abrar GayasNida Handoo
Suhail MagrayMujeeb R Fazilli
MUNEER DARNafis I AssadSaba NazirSyed M Shah
Nadeem Shabir
Syed M Ahmad- Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar, India
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Introduction: Advancing in-vitro embryo production in goats requires identification of optimal oocyte sources and retrieval methods. While abattoir-derived ovaries provide abundant material for routine research, laparoscopic ovum pick-up from hormonally synchronized goats yields physiologically staged oocytes that may better support embryo development and advanced reproductive applications. Materials and Methods: We compared the developmental competence and gene expression in bakerwal goat oocytes obtained via LOPU and from abattoir-sourced ovaries. A total of 528 cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were collected from 12 live donors across three LOPU sessions, while 1,517 COCs were retrieved from 338 abattoir ovaries. All oocytes underwent in vitro maturation, fertilization, and culture under similar conditions. Developmental competence was evaluated by cleavage, morula, blastocyst formation, and blastocyst morphology. Expression of competence-associated genes (ZAR1, MFN2, BAX, and BCL2) was quantified at immature oocyte, mature oocyte, and early blastocyst stages. Results: LOPU-derived oocytes demonstrated significantly higher developmental performance, including cleavage (54.9% vs. 45.2%), morula (45.9% vs. 34.9%), and blastocyst rates (29.5% vs. 19.0%; p<0.05). Nuclear maturation did not differ significantly between groups (81.1% vs. 76.3%; p>0.05). Gene expression analysis revealed enrichment of ZAR1 at GV and MII stages (up to 5.79-fold), progressive upregulation of MFN2 at the blastocyst stage (5.98-fold), downregulation of pro-apoptotic BAX (0.26–0.57 fold), and upregulation of pro-survival BCL2 (up to 1.85-fold) in LOPU-derived samples. Conclusion: In goats, oocytes retrieved via LOPU show superior developmental competence and more favorable molecular signatures than those obtained from abattoir-derived ovaries. LOPU-derived oocytes provide a more reliable option for achieving higher -quality embryos and may be more suitable for application in advanced reproductive biotechnologies.
Keywords: abattoir ovary, Gene Expression, Goat, IVEP, LOPU, oocyte competence
Received: 31 Oct 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Malik, SHAH, Yaqoob, Gayas, Handoo, Magray, Fazilli, DAR, Assad, Nazir, Shah, Shabir and Ahmad. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Abrar A Malik
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