Biopsy of human preimplantation embryos and sexing by DNA amplification

Abstract

A single cell was removed, through a hole made in the zona pellucida, from each of 30 human embryos at the 6-10 cell cleavage stage three days after in-vitro fertilisation. A normal proportion of the embryos (37%) developed to the blastocyst stage by day six in culture and 6 hatched from the zona. Each male embryo was sexed from the DNA by amplification of a repeated sequence specific for the Y chromosome. In 15 embryos with the normal two pronuclei the sex was determined also by in-situ hybridisation with a Y specific probe or fluorescent chromosome staining to detect metaphase Y chromosomes; the results of Y specific amplification were confirmed. This approach may be valuable for couples at risk of transmitting X-linked disease.