Breeding breakthrough
North America’s first piglets produced from oocyte (unfertilized egg) transfer have been born at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
Oocyte transfer involves removing unfertilized eggs from the ovaries of donor sows or gilts and implanting them into the oviducts of inseminated recipients.
By combining traditional embryo transfer technology with new procedures for oocyte transfer and in-vitro fertilized embryos, practical ways are developing to rapidly improve swine herds.
The research team in the department of population medicine at the university is working on several new technologies.
Besides oocyte transfer, the team is pursuing methods for in-vitro fertilization and cryopreservation (frozen storage) of swine embryos produced from slaughtered and carcass-evaluated gilts.
It is also researching techniques for storing and transferring embryos recovered from valuable donors.
New culture mediums for embryos and more simplified surgical transfer methods have resulted in pregnancy rates greater than 85 percent for embryos stored more than a day in the laboratory.
The researchers hope to integrate new technologies into an accessible, practical program for Canadian pork producers and for export.
– University of Guelph
