Question

Discuss the significance of the technique of embryo transfer and the achievement made through this technique in livestock. What prospects does it have in future?

Answer 1

Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer Technology (MOET) is a technique for herd improvement. In this method, a cow is administered hormones, with FSH like activity to induce follicular maturation and super-ovulation instead of one egg, which they normally yield per cycle, they produce 6-8 eggs. The animal is either mated with an elite bull or artificially inseminated. The fertilized eggs at 8-32 cells stages are recovered non- surgically and transferred to surrogate mothers. The genetic mother is available for another round of super ovulation.

Embryo transfer provides the opportunity to introduce genetic material into population of livestock while greatly reducing the risk of transmission of infectious disease.