Refrigerated storage of European common frog Rana temporaria oocytes

Reproduction technologies (RTs) for the storage and use of amphibian gametes have rapidly developed since the recognition of the amphibian conservation crisis in the late 20th Century. Of these RTs, the refrigerated storage of oocytes and sperm can help to achieve reliable pair-matching when unexpected deaths could lead to critical gaps in studbook programs, and also to enable gamete transport between facilities or when sampled from field populations. Viable sperm can be reliably stored in vitro in testes, as suspensions in refrigerators for weeks and in situ in refrigerated carcasses for days. However, oocytes have only been reliably stored in vitro and then only for a few hours. We stored mature oocytes of the European common frog Rana temporaria refrigerated at 4 °C: in situ in the oviduct of carcasses for 1–5 days, in vivo in the oviduct of live frogs for 30 days, and in vitro in plastic boxes for 1–5 days. Oocyte viability was measured as the percentage of fertilisation relative to controls and as the percentage hatch of fertilised oocytes. Rana temporaria oocytes in situ or in vitro retained some viability to hatch for up to 5 days. In contrast, when stored in vivo, oocytes showed little loss of viability to hatch after 10 days and moderate viability up to 30 days.