393 A STUDY OF THE USE OF SEXED SEMEN IN SUPERSTIMULATED HOLSTEIN COWS
H. Wang A B , R. Q. Li B , X. L. Zhang B , Q. Z. Pan C , J. L. Li D , M. B. Zhao B , Y. Z. Wang B and D. Y. Chen AA Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
B Beijing Glorious Land Agricultural Co., Ltd., Beijing, China
C College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
D He Bei Bei Fang College, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 19(1) 312-312 https://doi.org/10.1071/RDv19n1Ab393
Submitted: 12 October 2006 Accepted: 12 October 2006 Published: 12 December 2006
Abstract
A study was designed to investigate the use of sexed semen in superstimulated Holstein cows. Non-lactating Holstein cows (n = 107; those that did not superovulate were excluded) were superstimulated and inseminated with frozen–thawed, sexed semen (at 1 insemination dose) or control semen (at 2 different insemination doses) in 3 groups. Cows received a Cue-Mate (Bioniche Animal Health, Beijing, China) and were injected with 5 mg of estradiol-17β plus 100 mg of progesterone on Day 0. Cows were treated from Days 4 to 7 with decreasing doses of FSH for a total of 300 mg Folltropin-V (Bioniche; 50, 50, 40, 40, 30, 30, 30, and 30 mg) at 12 h intervals. On Day 7, Cue-Mates were removed and cows were injected twice with 0.4 mg cloprostenol (PGF; Institute of Family Planning, Shanghai, China). Bilateral deep uterine horn AI was performed 12 and 24 h after the onset of estrus on Day 9 (Group A: 4 × 106 sexed, frozen–thawed sperm per insemination from 1 of 3 bulls; Group B: 4 × 106 non-sexed, frozen–thawed sperm, or Group C: 10 × 106 non-sexed, frozen–thawed sperm per insemination from 1 of 3 bulls). Cows were assigned to bulls and insemination groups at random. Embryos were collected and evaluated on Day 16. Group A had a significantly lower fertilization and usable embryo (IETS grades 1 and 2) rate than the other 2 groups (Table 1). Although the rate of usable embryos between Groups B and C did not differ, the fertilization rate in Group C was significantly higher, suggesting that 4 million sperm in Group B was an inadequate insemination dose for superstimulated cattle. The significantly lower number of usable embryos in Group A suggests that the use of sexed sperm in superovulation and embryo transfer may not be economically feasible. More research is required to optimize and standardize bovine superstimulation and AI with sexed semen.
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