Embryo transplantation is an issue that has met with a good deal of skepticism as well as controversy. However, as a technique for the livestock sector and for genetic conservation of important and possibly endangered species, embryo transplantation can be useful. Scientists and veterinarians now use this technique regularly in order to ensure propagation of species and even breeding of new, even more stalwart and healthy livestock.

Important in this technique is the proper use of the embryo transplant microscope. Such a microscope is built in order to last through the entire process of embryo preparation and transplantation. When embryos are first created in the laboratory – that is, when they undergo artificial insemination or in-laboratory conception – scientists have to monitor the coming together of sperm and egg. In the past, this was a hit-or-miss situation: scientists would put sperm and egg together in a solution and hope that something would occur through the help of electricity, ions, chemical compounds, and other reagents. Now, cloning can even be done using a microscope, and with a pair of steady hands.

An embryo transplant microscope can also be used to check on the integrity of embryos before they are implanted. This is to ensure that deformed embryos are not mistakenly introduced into a mother recipient’s uterus, and that they are not mistakenly carried to term. This is also to ensure that the embryos are able to survive the stress of growing in the womb, and that the embryos are actually alive: cold storage can indeed preserve embryos, but not all embryos that are placed in deep cold can survive the damaging effects of ice, and even if they are housed in cryoprotectants, or ice-protection solutions.

Transferring Embryos

In general, embryo transplantation is simply the transfer of an embryo from a donor to a recipient. This is regular technique in livestock and animal husbandry for many countries, and it can be used to better farm production. Once a healthy embryo is identified and characterized – with thanks, of course, to the embryo transplant microscope – the embryo can then be then be transferred to the mother recipient. This can occur both surgically and non-surgically.

Surgical procedures involve cutting the mother recipient open at the vaginal and cervical areas, and exposing the uterine lining in which the embryo should be implanted. This ensures that the embryos are properly placed in the proper location, and that they can be carried fully to term. Because a surgical procedure is invasive and possibly can run into complications, only qualified veterinarians are allowed to do it, and only with necessary clearance papers.

Non-surgical techniques, on the other hand, require only a catheter and a solution in which the embryos can be placed. Instead of cutting a mother recipient open, a catheter is placed in the mother’s vagina, and it is through this that the solution with the embryos will flow. Only a few volumes of the liquid are enough to ensure embryo implantation. This is a simpler method and it is gaining popularity quite rapidly.

In each case, the mother recipient has to be made ready through the use of various mixtures of hormones. These hormones are designed to make the womb suitable for embryo implantation, and to make the mother ready for the stress of pregnancy. Without the correct mixture of hormones, an embryo may not implant, or it may die without reaching full term; in some cases, a mother recipient might not be able to take the stress of pregnancy and can suffer and die as well.

Why Embryo Transplantation is Important

Embryo transplantation is useful to the livestock industry because it can change the breed of livestock that farmers have without the farmers having to worry if their mating techniques will actually work. For one, embryo transplantation can enhance a breed of animals. With a good number of good breeds in a herd, unsuitable or weak breeds can be bred out. Embryo transplantation can also increase the number of strong breeds in a herd, so that farmers need not worry about having to buy the best livestock for their herds.

These are only a few ways by which embryo transplantation is done, and how it is affecting and improving the livestock industry. As more and more research goes into embryo transfer technology in the livestock sector, the techniques used to carry it out will be even more efficient, and the technology, as a whole, will be less expensive. For more information on embryo transplantation of animals, talk to an animal sciences expert, or consult with your local veterinarian. Read more