Somatic Development and Embryo Yield in Crossbred F1 Mice Generated by Different Mating Strategies/Desenvolvimento Somatico E Producao de Embrioes Em Camundongos Cruzados F1 Gerados Com Diferentes Estrategias de Cruzamento‪.‬

1. Introduction Mice have been extremely important as an animal model in scientific research, due to the wide range of possible applications, consistency of results and low cost. They can be used for the most variable purposes, from basic research to the development of products for commercial application, being particularly important in human and animal health (Andrade et al., 2006). Murine embryos have been extensively used in developmental biology studies, including fertilization, embryo development, differentiation, morphogenesis and organogenesis (Dieterlen-Lievre et al., 2005). Their use in biotechnics development (e.g., chimerism, cloning and transgenesis) was essential and mice embryos are also the main model for media and material quality evaluation in this area (Eakin and Hadjantonakis, 2006).