Current status and potential of embryo transfer and reproductive technology in dairy cattle

Significant use of embryo transfer in dairy cattle commenced with the introduction of nonsurgical embryo recovery in the mid-1970s and developed with the use of nonsurgical transfers in the late 1970s. Numbers of registered Holstein calves from embryo transfer doubled yearly through 1980, after which the rate of increase slowed; the total reached nearly 19,000 calves in 1990. However, the efficacy of superovulation procedures and commercial success rates of transferred fresh embryos have not improved the past 10 to 15 yr. Fertilization rates in superovulated donors remain low. Although embryo-splitting techniques were perfected in the early 1980s, they are not used widely. A practical, commercial embryo-sexing procedure remains unavailable. Recent significant improvement is apparent in the technology of ultrasound-guided oocyte collection and in vitro oocyte maturation, fertilization, and embryo culture. In the future, this technology may be used in conjunction with sperm separated by sex with a flow cytometer. Modest numbers of embryo clones have been produced in several commercial programs via nuclear transfer techniques. However, the efficiency of gene transfer experiments involving ova of cattle and other domestic species has been low. Recently, DNA probe technology has begun to provide genotype information for cattle and will ultimately be applied to embryos.