Assisted reproductive technology in tropical animals: Case in Pasundan cattle genetic conservation and utilization

Abstract

Pasundan cattle are native Indonesian cattle located in West Java, Indonesia. These cattle have a superior trait in reproductive performance although reared in extreme environmental conditions with low-quality of feed, and resistance to parasite diseases than other cattle breeds. However, the ability to maintain Pasundan cattle genetic diversity, avoiding inbreeding, keeping the population healthy, and high reproduction efficiency are among the significant challenges currently occurred. The application of assisted reproductive technology (ART) seems promising to overcome those challenges and would impact the efficiency of genetic diversity conservation and preservation. This review aims to present the possibility to use the available ART in Pasundan cattle. The ART reviewed are the advanced technology of sperm cryopreservation, sex selection, artificial insemination, and in vitro embryo production. The sperm cryopreservation combined with sperm sexing is the most promising technology to maximize the use of genetic material of Pasundan cattle. Moreover, sexed sperm would have a promising impact on artificial insemination and/or embryo production to increase the cattle population. Furthermore, to protect genetic diversity, it is possible to apply the artificial reproductive technique and sperm or embryos conservation for genetic utilization in the future.