IVF in Cattle
We need 15 million spermatozoa for 1 artificial insemination. For the production of the female calf, the X and Y chromosomes are separated and the x sperms are used for the production of female calves. The technique used for the separation of semen can separate only 4 million spermatozoa. These 4 million spermatozoa are sufficient to produce offspring in cow heifer but it is not sufficient in the adult cows. The fertilization of ovum takes places in the reproductive organs of a female cow. Because the sperm has to go under the capacitation.
If the ovum and sperm are placed in a test tube then the sperm does not fertilize the ovum. If glucosamine glycans are added to the sperm and ovum present in test tube this addition of glucosamine glycans invites the fertilization. Once the ovum is fertilized then it can be transferred in the cow.
The advantage of this technique is that with a very small number of spermatozoa we can fertilize the ovum. One sperm can also be injected into ovum with the sperm injecting gun. The embryo formed by this technique avoids the complications of fertilization. These embryos are quite stable at 30 to 40-degree ambient temperature. this technique is a boon for tropical countries and in Maharashtra test tube calves are being produced. The details of test-tube calf production are given below.