Abstract: Mito-Tracker Green and Real-time quantitative PCR were used to respectively detect the mitochondria distribution and mtDNA copy number of porcine parthenogenetic oocytes. The results showed that the distribution of mitochondria was uniform and dense in the every blastomere beginning from 2-cell embryo. The outside of the space in blastomeres was no distribution of mitochondria. Until the blastocyst formation, mitochondria were distributed in blastomeres. mtDNA copy number of 4-cell embryos was significantly higher than that of 8-cell embryos (907210.77±145520.77,186224.33±103308.00, P<0.05), and it was significantly lower than those of 2-cell embryos, molura and blastocyst (1563422.54±224666.51, 1697626.25±176999.53 and 1752301.29±101146.64, P<0.05). mtDNA copy number of parthenogenetic expanded blastocyst was 2812545.67±156819.31, which was the highest value of all different developmental embryos. In conclusion, mitochondrial distribution and mtDNA copy number changes could differ in the developmental process of parthenogenetic embryos.

Key words: porcine oocyte; parthenogenetic; mitochondrial distribution; mtDNA copy number