Development of Methods for the Consistent Production of Transferable Embryos from Oocytes Collected from Mediterranean Buffalo Donors at Prepubertal Ages

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There is a growing demand for buffalo dairy products that cannot be met because of the limited number of females of good milk productivity available in Canada and the very long time it takes for these animals to achieve sexual maturity. Assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro embryo production and sex-sorted semen have become important tools in bovine breeding and selection programs. However, these technologies have not been entirely adapted to buffalos. There is growing interest in reproducing young animals that are identified as genetically superior around the time of birth, using marker-assisted genomic selection. Prepubertal reproduction would have outstanding impact in the buffalo species given their delayed age of sexual maturity (~24 months). Therefore, the goal of this research project is to develop protocols and conditions for optimized number and quality of oocytes recovered from prepubertal water buffalos of 2-6 months of age, as well as optimized yield of transferable embryos following in vitro embryo production and pregnancy rates after transfer into synchronized adult recipients. The results from this project will benefit the water buffalo industry, as well as embryo production and transfer companies, by producing technology capable of accelerating genetic gain through enabling the propagation of the best genetics at significantly younger ages.