Ovulation occurred within 9 to 12 h after injection. Eggs were manually stripped from females and collected in a dry plastic plate. Egg quality was estimated morphologically through a dissecting microscope, on a 1.0-mL aliquot and was defined as viable when they were perfectly spherical, translucent and lacked vittelline space [35]. Batches of approximately 700 viable eggs (0.5 g) were transferred to Petri dish to be fertilized.