IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION AND MATURATION OF BALKAN WATER FROG (Pelophylax kurtmuelleri, Gayda, 1940) ? A CASE STUDY IN REPRODUCTIVE AMPHIBIAN BIOTECHNOLOGY

The process of in-vitro fertilization enables the formation of new organisms under laboratory conditions. In this way becomes possible the insurance of livelihood continuity of vulnerable organisms, recently considered as such are also amphibians. Frogs have been the most favorite organisms for the study of reproduction and development biology due to their manipulation in the lab. This study aimed the application for the first time in our country of in-vitro fertilization technique (IVF) in one of the threatened frog species (Balkan water frog, Pelophylax kurtmuelleri, Gayda, 1940). The objective of this study is the stabilization of the fertilization technique and in-vitro maturation in ranidian frogs. The average productivity of in-vitro fertilization technique performed in the laboratory was 27%. This performance is higher compared with the performance of similar techniques applied by other labs. The fertilization of eggs through the technique of direct spray with the extract of macerated testicles increases significantly the productivity of the technique. This technique provides the opportunity for in-situ conservation of amphibians.