A time-lapse live embryo monitoring system provides a powerful approach to recording dynamic developmental events of cultured embryos in detail. By obtaining continuous short-interval images, blastocyst formation can be predicted and embryos can be selected. The objective of this study was to investigate the morphokinetic parameters of fishing cat–domestic cat interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) embryos from one-cell to blastocyst stages, and in particular, the cleavage patterns of the first division in iSCNT and IVF embryos, as these play a central role in euploidy. Domestic cat in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos were set up as controls. The results show that morula and blastocyst development rates were significantly lower in the iSCNT embryos compared to their IVF counterparts. All earlier time points of embryonic development before the onset of blastulation in the iSCNT embryos were significantly delayed when compared with their IVF counterparts. In iSCNT, normal embryos (defined as those that developed to the blastocyst stage) took a longer time to reach the morula stage, and these morulas were more likely to undergo compaction, compared to their arrested embryo counterparts. Direct cleavage in the first division is a morphological aberration, and was seen with greater prevalence in iSCNT embryos than control IVF embryos; these aberrant embryos displayed a significantly lower blastocyst development rate than embryos that had undergone normal cleavage. In conclusion, the morphokinetic parameters of fishing cat–domestic cat iSCNT embryos at early stages could be used to predict their potential for development to the blastocyst stage. A time-lapse imaging system is potentially a powerful tool for selecting early embryos with developmental potential for transfer, and hence, for improving feline iSCNT efficiency.

Induced pluripotent stem cells have revolutionized biomedical research—yet the vast majority of life on Earth remains beyond their reach. Non-model species lack the annotated genomes, validated reagents, and species-specific culture infrastructure that make iPSC technology routine in humans and mice, and this infrastructure deficit, compounded by genuine biological differences in pluripotency network architecture across taxa, is what has kept the field narrow. The deep conservation of the core pluripotency network across vertebrates suggests that reprogramming may, in principle, be achievable across a far broader range of species than currently demonstrated—though the extent to which this holds across more divergent taxa remains to be established. This review consolidates current progress and future potential of iPSC technology across five domains: technical reprogramming challenges and advances; conservation applications including genetic rescue, in vitro gametogenesis, and de-extinction; medical applications within a one medicine framework; agricultural applications spanning disease resistance, climate resilience, and cultured meat; and species-specific iPSC-derived systems in ecotoxicology. Throughout, we distinguish what has been demonstrated from what remains aspirational and identify the priorities that will determine whether the iPSC revolution can be extended—rigorously and at scale—beyond model organism research.

Induced pluripotent stem cells have revolutionized biomedical research - yet the vast majority of life on Earth remains beyond their reach. Non-model species lack the annotated genomes, validated reagents, and species-specific culture infrastructure that make iPSC technology routine in humans and mice, and this infrastructure deficit, rather than any fundamental biological barrier, is what has kept the field narrow. The core pluripotency network is conserved across vertebrates; reprogramming is, in principle, achievable in any somatic cell from any species. This review consolidates current progress and future potential of iPSC technology across five domains: technical reprogramming challenges and advances; conservation applications including genetic rescue, in vitro gametogenesis, and de-extinction; medical applications within a one medicine framework; agricultural applications spanning disease resistance, climate resilience, and cultured meat; and species-specific iPSC-derived systems in ecotoxicology. Throughout, we distinguish what has been demonstrated from what remains aspirational and identify the priorities that will determine whether the iPSC revolution can be extended - rigorously and at scale - beyond model organism research.