The role of reproductive techniques in genetic improvement and dissemination of genetic gain in livestock production and aquaculture

The ability to produce large numbers of embryos of high genetic quality in vitro allows new, more efficient breeding schemes and faster dissemination of genetic gain from breeding populations to commercial populations. Wherea s ovum pick-up techniques, in combination with in vitro maturation and fert ilization of aspirated oocytes, mainly contribute to genetic improvement, e specially in dairy cattle breeding, cloning may have an important role in t he dissemination of genetic gain, both in cattle and in pigs. Likewise in a quaculture, homozygous gynogenetic or androgenetic clone lines may have an important role in the dissemination of genetic gain in fish breeding progra ms.