Nanomechanical vibration profiling of oocytes

The beginning of a mammalian life commences with a fertilized oocyte. The study of oocytes is certainly one of the most intriguing scientific questions of our time. Herein, we studied oocytes from a mechanical perspective and characterized the typical life activities of oocytes by nanomechanical vibrations. During the development of oocytes from the germinal vesicle (GV) stage to the zygotes, the GV stage oocytes induced a significant nanomechanical vibration, compared with the oocytes in meiosis I (MI) and meiosis II (MII) stages and zygotes. We analyzed the characteristics of mechanical vibrations of oocytes, including the amplitude as well as the frequency. It showed that the amplitude and frequency of nanomechanical vibrations induced by oocytes were caused by the cytoskeleton (microfilaments) and the distribution of metabolic characteristics (mitochondria) within oocytes. This work provides a new perspective for clinical quality assessment and basic research of oocytes, and can open new doors for development of life science.