Reactivating tammar wallaby blastocysts oxidize fatty acids and amino acids

Abstract

The tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii, has a ruminant-like digestive system which may make a significant concentration of amino acids and fatty acids available to the blastocyst via uterine fluids. Fluorescent and radioisotope analyses were performed to determine the rate of glutamine and palmitate use by blastocysts recovered on day 0, 3, 4, 5 and 10 after reactivation induced by removal of pouch young (RPY). Between day 0 and 4 glutamine uptake increased from 15.6 ± 6.6 to 36.1 ± 2.7 pmol per embryo h-1 (P < 0.01) and ammonium production increased from 8.2 ± 4.3 to 26.6 ± 3.0 pmol per embryo h-1 (P < 0.01). Glutamine oxidation did not increase until day 10 after RPY (P < 0.01), but the perc..