Vitrification of Culter alburnus Embryos by Laser-Assisted Warming with Gold Nanorods

In this study, we optimized the vitrification solution and employed gold nanorods (GNRs) in a laser-assisted warming process to improve the hatching rate of Culter alburnus embryos after cryopreservation. With V11 vitrification solution (15% DMSO, 10% EG, 15% PG, and 1 mM MT) and a laser-assisted warming condition (25 μg/mL GNRs with continuous 15 W laser irradiation), we achieved rapid and homogeneous warming, and the mean hatching rate of cryopreserved embryos reached 18.83%.

RNA-seq revealed that above cryopreservation procedure led to significant transcriptional changes in calcium signaling pathways and apoptosis-related genes, which may facilitate further optimization of vitrification solution. This study provides a basis for further improving the efficiency of embryo cryopreservation in Culter alburnus and other fish species.