For the best results, females should have at least reached puberty. The age and weight at which this occurs is highly dependent on breed and their management conditions Once females have reached puberty, the embryo development rate tends to be higher and more consistent. Physical size is important to consider when selecting young donors. In breeds where females may cycle at a relatively low weight, the probe used for the OPU procedure may not physically fit inside a small heifer. As a rule over 330kg is recommended.
A good IVF donor is a cow or heifer generally aged between 2-8 years, with superior genetics, excellent reproductive health, and a proven ability to produce high-quality oocytes. She should be in good body condition, have a calm temperament and be managed under best practice conditions.
Donors and recipients should be vaccinated against diseases that cause reproductive loss. Vaccination can be performed up to 2 weeks before the day of the OPU or transfer date. We recommend that you follow the advice of your veterinarian and follow the appropriate Australian Immune Ready Guidelines.
Donors should be in optimal body condition score (BCS) ranging between 2.5 to 3.5 (scale 1 to 5) and on a rising plane of nutrition.
Recipient females can be synchronised from 30 days post-calving provided they are in optimal BCS (between 2.5 – 3.5), fully recovered and cycling.
If our clients would like to use FSH in IVF donors, we can certainly accommodate this. There is scientific data to suggest this will increase the oocyte quality and embryo development rate. It is not however essential.
For recipients the protocol is generally the same as it is for MOET (with the exception of the dates of hormone application in relation to the donors).
Ovum pick up (OPU) can be performed on donors providing they are at least 4 weeks post calving with full recovery and cycling. OPU can also be performed on pregnant females that are up to 90 days gestation.
We will soon be able to select and draft embryos based on various traits including marbling through the pre-implantation genomic screening technology being developed. The first step of course is selecting superior donors and sires with these traits.
Yes, it will be possible to select embryos in the lab based on various traits including gender.
Sex-sorted semen could still be used as this will result in a greater number of embryos from which to sort on other traits. Contact your sexed-semen service provider to discuss terms and conditions.
At Nbryo, ART stands for advanced reproductive technology. It covers technologies such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer and has been used across multiple species including as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs for over thirty years.
Not at all. This is all about selecting for the cattle that will perform best across the wide range of variable conditions in Australia and around the world. It is about maximising production and other benefits such as the reduction of methane emissions in a range of different environments. So the genetic pool you need to do that is no different to what it is today. Nbryo would also keep a bank of embryos representing the diverse range of breeds and genetics for any future reference/ requirements.
No, we are utilising existing, publicly available genomic tests and IP, and simply applying these to early stage embryos rather than live animals.
Initially these will include simple traits such as gender, horn/poll, recessive genetic conditions and coat colour. Over time, these will also include performance orientated SNP panels.
Scaling up refers to the ability to make this technology available to large commercial herds, something that has not been possible before. The use of embryos will make the breeding cycle faster and more efficient, which will mean less cattle would be required to maintain the same level of production.