COMPARISON OF 2 SEMEN EXTENDERS IN TERMS OF IN-VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF BOVINE EMBRYOS FOLLOWING IVF

In order to conform with current EC standards with regard to antibioti c cover, the Norwegian Cattle Association is currently investigating t he use of Biladyl(R) as an alternative to the milk-based extender whic h has been traditionally used in Norway. A study was carried out to in vestigate the effect of using semen frozen with either milk extender o r Biladyl(R) on the outcome of in vitro fertilization and embryo cultu re. Semen from 6 Norwegian Red bulls was used. There was a significant difference p<0.05 in terms of cleavage rate between the 2 extenders f or 1 bull, 78.2% vs 94.9% for milk and Biladyl(R) extenders, respectiv ely, and for the overall total of 71.3% vs 76.1% for milk and Biladyl( R) extenders, respectively. There were no significant differences in t erms of blastocyst yield amongst any of the bulls. In conclusion, the results suggest that Biladyl(R) can be used as a replacement for the t raditional milk-based extender without any adverse effects on blastocy st yields following in vitro fertilization.