THE first successful use of frozen sperm to create IVF equine embryos has been recorded in the US, in a “milestone” for breeding.
Researchers at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, California, hope their findings will be useful for clinical applications, and opportunities to study fertilisation and embryo development.
They used defrosted sperm to fertilise eggs and create embryos. They compared stages of embryo development to those achieved with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection – injecting a single sperm into an equine egg).
IVF has historically had little success in horses. There have been recent advances, but only using high-quality fresh sperm, which limits its use.
Sperm from five stallions was used on 109 eggs, and scientists compared the early stages of development at several different points.
This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of Horse & Hound.
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This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of Horse & Hound.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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