Sperm Sexing Cattle
Sperm Sexing In Cattle
Sperm sexing is an area of bovine reproduction technology which is utilised to improve and increase farm productivity by taking advantage of the difference in the value of males and females in the dairy and beef industry. It is a useful and accurate application in which the desired X- or Y- bearing chromosome is sorted and stored in a straw for later use. Selection of the desired sex is a potential determining factor to increase the genetic progress and farmer profitability in either beef or dairy cattle. This is largely due to male calves in dairy farms having little economical value. However, in beef farms, the male calf is the product of interest due to its increased potential to produce meat.
In the late 1980s, the process of sorting semen by gender was developed and the technology has been gradually improving since then. There are more advantages to using sexed semen in the dairy industry than beef industry, but both benefit from the implementation, whether the purpose be to add to the genetic and economic value of replacement heifers for dairy production features, or to produce genetically superior beef steer calves for market. Recent technology has been developed over the years to predict and/or manipulate the calf sex proportion. There are many ways in which the application of sperm sexing impacts cattle production, as demonstrated through the advantages and disadvantages of using it.
What is Sexed Semen?
Sexed semen is semen in which the fractions of X-bearing (female) and Y-bearing (male) sperm have been modified from the natural mix through sorting and selection. The separation of the X sperm from the Y is possible due to the differences of the DNA content of these spermatic cells. The highly purified groups of sorted semen are then frozen for future use in AI, to improve AI programs or embryo transfer.
Sorting Process
For practical purposes, sexed semen first became commercially available in North America in 2006, using
Sperm sexing is an area of bovine reproduction technology which is utilised to improve and increase farm productivity by taking advantage of the difference in the value of males and females in the dairy and beef industry. It is a useful and accurate application in which the desired X- or Y- bearing chromosome is sorted and stored in a straw for later use. Selection of the desired sex is a potential determining factor to increase the genetic progress and farmer profitability in either beef or dairy cattle. This is largely due to male calves in dairy farms having little economical value. However, in beef farms, the male calf is the product of interest due to its increased potential to produce meat.
In the late 1980s, the process of sorting semen by gender was developed and the technology has been gradually improving since then. There are more advantages to using sexed semen in the dairy industry than beef industry, but both benefit from the implementation, whether the purpose be to add to the genetic and economic value of replacement heifers for dairy production features, or to produce genetically superior beef steer calves for market. Recent technology has been developed over the years to predict and/or manipulate the calf sex proportion. There are many ways in which the application of sperm sexing impacts cattle production, as demonstrated through the advantages and disadvantages of using it.
What is Sexed Semen?
Sexed semen is semen in which the fractions of X-bearing (female) and Y-bearing (male) sperm have been modified from the natural mix through sorting and selection. The separation of the X sperm from the Y is possible due to the differences of the DNA content of these spermatic cells. The highly purified groups of sorted semen are then frozen for future use in AI, to improve AI programs or embryo transfer.
Sorting Process
For practical purposes, sexed semen first became commercially available in North America in 2006, using