Abstract
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) has become a useful breeding tool in most of the developed world. In this paper the success of bovine IVF and the birth of live calves under typical South African conditions is reported. Oocytes for IVF were collected from the ovaries of 6 slaughtered Bovelder beef cows. On average, 36.2 oocytes per donor were retrieved. From these oocytes, 43 blastocysts were produced from 5 of the donors by IVF with frozen Bovelder semen. The best 11 of these embryos were transferred into oestrous, synchronised Bovelder recipients in the same herd. As a result, 7 calves were born (a 64% calving rate) from 4 of the original donors. The calves had a normal birth mass, but the mean gestation length of the male calves was significantly longer than the herd average (291.6 versus 285.2 days respectively). No calving difficulties were encountered. In summary, it was shown that IVF for bovine embryo production and transfer is possible on a commercial basis in South Africa.
Highlights
The rescue of genetic material from valuable animals that die or need to be culled is a service that is currently available for certain species in many parts of the world[6,11]
Bovine In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo transfer have become standard procedures in which multiple offspring may be produced from a single dam
This report describes the success of IVF and embryo transfer in a commercial herd of South African Bovelder beef cattle, with the birth of live calves
Summary
The rescue of genetic material from valuable animals that die or need to be culled is a service that is currently available for certain species in many parts of the world[6,11]. In vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technology that uses eggs and sperm to produce embryos in a Petri dish, is well-developed for cattle. Bovine IVF and embryo transfer have become standard procedures in which multiple offspring may be produced from a single dam. Results are highly variable, with many donors yielding no offspring while others may yield several[10]. 2–3 viable embryos can be produced from each donor, which, after transfer to a surrogate mother, will result in the birth of 1–2 live calves[6,7]. Bovine IVF has been commercially available to farmers in many countries, this has occurred only recently in South Africa. This report describes the success of IVF and embryo transfer in a commercial herd of South African Bovelder beef cattle, with the birth of live calves
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