Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #61027
Title: SEX PRESELECTION IN CATTLE: A FIELD TRIAL

Author
item CRAN, D - MASTERCALF, LTD.
item Johnson, Lawrence
item POLGE, C - MASTERCALF, LTD.

Submitted to: Veterinary Record
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Gender preselection in cattle at the practical level is highly desired and would bring numerous advantages to the industry. Among the advantages are faster genetic progress, management efficiency and facility flexibility. We conducted a field trial using the Beltsville Sperm Sexing Technology in collaboration with Mastercalf Ltd., licensee to the technology to test its usefulness to farmers. Male producing Y sperm were sorted, used for in vitro fertilization to develop male embryos which were then frozen and ultimately transferred to recipient cows on 11 farms in Scotland. Forty- one calves were born from these transfers and 90% of the calves were male. These results establish the effectiveness and the utility of the Beltsville Sperm Sexing Technology for commercial production of calves of predetermined sex. These results are being used to implement the technology under field conditions.

Technical Abstract: Semen was obtained twice per week from a Limousin bull and prepared for sorting into the Y population of sorting by treating with Hoechst 33342 stain followed by incubation at 35 C. The incubated stained sperm were then coincubated with ova from ovaries that had been collected at a local abbatoir. The ova were recovered and matured in vitro for 24 hours prior to the co-incubation. The sperm were added to the fertilization medium containing the eggs and fertilization and development allowed to occur under normal in vitro fertilization conditions. Embryos that reached day seven in grade 1 status were frozen in straws by standard techniques, shipped to Scotland and implanted by transfer in 106 recipient cows. Thirty five cows calved producing 41 calves. The calves were 37 males and 4 females. This data confirms the efficacy of the Beltsville Sperm Sexing Technology for use in commercial practice where one has access to flow cytometric cell sorting equipment and in vitro fertilization technology.