본 연구는 호랑이 미성숙 난자의 체외 성숙의 가능성을 검토하였다. 1. 호랑이 난자의 직경 (176.5${pm}6.1{mu}m$)은 소 난자의 직경 (150.7${pm}4.9{mu}m$)보다 유의적으로 컷으며, 세포질 직경 (122.1${pm}9.7{mu}m$) 은 소 난자의 직경 (118.7${pm}7.5{mu}m$) 과 유의차가 없었다. 또한, 호랑이 난자의 투명대 두께 (20.4${pm}2.9{mu}m$) 는 소 난자의 두께 (12${pm}2.6{mu}m$) 보다 유의적으로 두꺼웠다(p<0.05). 2. 체외성숙 48시간째 제1극체의 출현율은 62.5%이며, 핵성숙은 GV 단계(12.5%)와 MII 단계(50.0%)의 핵 성숙율을 보였다. 이상의 연구결과로 보아 호랑이 난자도 체외성숙이 가능하리라 판단되며 보다 더 적합한 체외성숙조건의 검토가 요구된다.
The purpose of this study was to determine the possibility of in vitro maturation of tiger oocytes. Immature oocytes were recovered from a pair of ovaries. A total of 78 oocytes was collected, of which forty three were classified as good oocytes with compact cumulus cells and uniform cytoplasm. Forty three COCs were in vitro matured at $39^{circ}C$, 5% CO2 in air atmosphere for 48 h in a IVM medium (TCM-199 supplement with 10% FBS, 0.6 mM cysteine, 0.2 mM pyruvic acid and 10 IU/mL HMG). Experiment I: the morphologic evaluation was conducted by measuring the diameter of oocytes with or without ZP, the thickness of ZP and the diameter of cytoplasm by microeyepiece at the same magnification (${ imes}$100). Experiment II: the evaluation of meiotic development was conducted of the nuclear development stage of tiger oocytes. The results were summarized as follows: 1. The diameter of tiger oocytes $(176.5pm6.1{mu}m)$ with ZP was significantly (p<0.05) bigger than that of bovine oocytes $(150.7pm4.9{mu}m).$ The ZP thickness of tiger oocytes $(20.4pm2.9{mu}m)$ was significantly (p<0.05) bigger than that of bovine oocytes $(12.0pm2.6{mu}m;$ p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the diameter of cytoplasm (without ZP) between tiger $(122.1pm9.7{mu}m)$ and bovine oocytes $(118.7pm7.5{mu}m).$ 2. The rates of meiotic development of tiger oocytes were achieved GV (12.5 %) and MII (50.0%), respectively. These results indicated that tiger oocytes could be developed to MII in in vitro culture system.
