What is the mass breeding technology for in vitro embryo production of dairy cows?

China News Service, Yinchuan, October 31 (Reporter Li Peishan) The reporter learned from the Propaganda Department of the Lingwu Municipal Party Committee in Yinchuan, Ningxia on the 31st that Lingwu City and Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University *** jointly led the live egg collection- Research on in vitro embryo production and embryo transplantation technology has recently achieved major breakthroughs. The first batch of in vitro embryo production and transplantation well-bred cows were born and grew up healthily at Xingyuanda Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Co., Ltd., a breeding base in Lingwu. This is the first time that China has successfully built a laboratory in a breeding farm to collect live eggs and produce embryos in vitro for efficient batch breeding without affecting the normal breeding plan. The high-bred dairy cows are finally equipped with the "Chinese core".

"It weighed 37 kilograms at birth, was 66 centimeters tall, and 44 centimeters long. Such a calf is healthy and all functions are normal." Li Heqiang, a PhD student at Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University, told reporters , Ningxia’s first live egg harvesting-in vitro embryo production (OPU-IVP) dairy cow calf completed its first meal half an hour after birth. An hour later, the calf was able to stand on its own. After preliminary observation and measurement by the expert team, the calf met all the standards for newborn calves.

Newborn calf. Picture provided by the Propaganda Department of Lingwu Municipal Party Committee

It is reported that the success of in vitro embryo production has established a new system of OPU-IVP-ET and cloned embryo transfer technology without affecting the normal breeding plan of the farm. This technology can collect about 20-30 oocytes each time, with a maximum recovery of 38 oocytes. Each time the eggs are collected, about 5-9 transplantable embryos can be obtained. The transplantation success rate is stable at about 50%, reaching international standards. advanced level.

Lingwu City has a long history of building a modern dairy seed industry scientific and technological innovation system with enterprises as the main body, market as the guide, talents as the foundation, integration of industry, academia and research, and integration of breeding, breeding and promotion. In cooperation with Northwest A&F University After in-depth cooperation in the research and development of rapid breeding technology for dairy cows, the first phase completed the transplantation of 120 cloned cow embryos and the transplantation of 411 live egg-collected and in vitro embryo-produced cows. So far, 36 well-bred cows have been born in the first batch of in vitro embryo production and transplantation. The newborn cows have normal physiques and healthy clinical examinations. It is expected that 300 newborn cows can be produced.

Newborn calf. Photo courtesy of the Propaganda Department of the Lingwu Municipal Party Committee

At the same time, the lactation volume of well-bred cows produced by in vitro embryo production and transplantation is about 4 times higher than that of ordinary cows. "In the long run, if there are enough high-quality cows like this, we can establish a core group of well-bred dairy cows. And the male calves produced with new technology also have the potential to become breeding bulls. In the future, we are expected to rely on independent intellectual property rights The well-bred bulls and well-bred cows can reproduce independently," said Xiao Jinbang, a PhD student at Northwest A&F University.

At present, the average annual milk production of Ningxia dairy cows reaches about 10 tons, ranking in the middle and upper reaches of the country. Internationally, the highest annual milk production of well-bred dairy cows is nearly 36 tons, and the highest lifetime milk production is 209 tons. Jin Yaping, a professor at Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University, chief of the Dairy Breed Industry Innovation Team of Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University, and chief of the National Lingwu Dairy Science and Technology Institute, said that live egg collection-in vitro embryo production and embryo transplantation are currently the top technologies in the international breeding of improved dairy cows. At the same time, it is also a new track for competition between countries. Making full use of outstanding individuals in the dairy cow population to carry out factory production and application of improved in vitro embryos will comprehensively improve the life span, milk production and milk quality of dairy cows, and provide strong technical support for promoting the high-quality development of Ningxia's milk industry. (End)