A Futuristic Look into Reproductive Management

Abstract

The extent of the increases in milk production resulting from improvements in the system for artificial insemination were not forecasted. But more improvements will come! For example, improvements in diagnosing sex of embryos will increase the adoption of preselection of sex as a part of embryo transfer. Later, the best 1% of cows may be inseminated with Y-sperm to create the next generation of sires, the next best 50% may be inseminated with X-sperm to create herd replacements, and the bottom 50% may be inseminated with Y-sperm to create males for beef. Bulls may be treated during embryonic development to increase their reproductive performance in artificial insemination centers and improved systems for sperm preservation will decrease numbers of sperm required for acceptable fertility. Improved tests of semen quality based upon new physicochemical principles will provide better predictors of fertility and sperm may be frozen in “sustained release” capsules to prolong effective fertility after insemination. In females, methods are evolving to induce and synchronize estrus in cattle during postpartum anestrus and during the first 5 d of the estrous cycle when no functional corpora lutea exist. Technology is also emerging to enhance the ability to detect cattle in estrus and to diagnose quickly on the farm nonpregnancy as early as 19 to 20 d after insemination. Collectively, these kinds of advances will allow systems for insemination of groups of cattle at prescribed periods with normal fertility. Advances in uses of ovarian and hypothalamic hormones will increase the numbers of oocytes from superovulation and improve their viability. Genes for simply inherited traits from other species will be inserted into the bovine genome and integrated systems for preservation of embryos will increase their viability after freezing. Collectively, the economic impact of these kinds of advances in reproductive management may rival that from artificial insemination.