PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF IVM IVF IN CATTLE

Recent developments in the techniques of gamete manipulation and embry o production in vitro have already been applied to animal breeding. Em bryos of commercial value or high genetic quality can be obtained in v itro from the oocytes of slaughtered donors or from donors of high gen etic quality by ultrasound guided follicular aspiration. Large numbers of cheap embryos produced in vitro are also available for research. M any factors influence the efficiency of the in vitro technology such a s the status of the donor and the technique used to culture the embryo s from the zygote to blastocyst stage. The limits to the widespread us e of in vitro technology are the low freezability of the embryos compl etely cultured in vitro and some abnormalities reported in the offspri ng.