Involvement of mouse and porcine PLCζ-induced calcium oscillations in preimplantation development of mouse embryos

In mammals, phospholipase Cζ (PLCζ) has the ability to trigger calcium (Ca2+) oscillations in oocytes, leading to oocyte activation. Although there is a species-specific difference in the PLCζ-induced Ca2+ oscillatory pattern, whether PLCζ-induced Ca2+ oscillations affect preimplantation embryonic development remains unclear. Here, we show that Ca2+ oscillations in mouse PLCζ cRNA-injected oocytes stopped just before pronuclear formation, while that in porcine PLCζ cRNA-injected oocytes continued for several hours after pronuclei had been formed. This difference of Ca2+ oscillations in oocytes after pronuclear formation was dependent on the difference in the nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequence of PLCζ between the mouse and pig. However, mouse and porcine PLCζ cRNA-injected oocytes parthenogenetically developed to blastocysts regardless of the absence or presence of Ca2+ oscillations after pronuclear formation. Furthermore, the developmental rate of mouse or porcine PLCζ-activated oocytes injected with round spermatids to the blastocyst stage was not significantly different from that of strontium-activated oocytes injected with round spermatids. These results suggest that the PLCζ-induced Ca2+ oscillatory pattern in mouse oocytes is dependent on the NLS sequence of PLCζ and injection of PLCζ may be a useful method for activation of round spermatid-injected and somatic nuclear transferred oocytes.