First steps towards Echinometra lucunter embryo cryopreservation

Abstract

We have studied the sensitivity to cryoprotecting agents of different embryos of the local sea urchin, Echinometra lucunter which is the species used for embryo-larval bioassays in Brazil. We have located significant differences between both species sensitivity to cryoprotecting agents; while for P. lividus propylene glycol was the less toxic compound for most development stages, whereas for E. lucunter is was the most toxic and the least toxic was Dimethyl sulfoxide. There is a significant difference between development stages as well; in the case of P. lividus, the blastula embryo was the most resistant to the cryoprotecting agents, meanwhile for E. lucunter, it was the fertilized oocyte. This is a very promising result, a really early embryo that is not extremely sensitive to Me₂SO. Our next aim is to develop a cryopreservation protocol for E. lucunter early embryos and test them in an embryo-larval bioassay.

Keywords: Cryopreservation; Cryoprotecting agents; Embryos; Marine invertebrate; Sea urchin.