29 AUGUST 2019: “ZETTAI” IS BORN!! (ZETTAI IS JAPANESE FOR ABSOLUTE)
FIRST CALF BORN IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM JUVENILE IN VITRO EMBRYO TRANSFER
What is Juvenile In Vitro Embryo Transfer (JIVET) ?
This is the process where oocytes are laparoscopically collected under anaesthesia from heifers between 3 and 6 months of age.
Naturally a heifer is born with up to 50 000 potential oocytes. After reaching the age of puberty a large amount of these oocytes are lost. JIVET therefore aims to make use of the vast potential of oocytes already in the ovary of the heifer prior to puberty. After the age of puberty and when the animal reaches a certain size / weight then the techniques of Embryo Flushing/ IVF / AI / Natural mating can still be employed.
Countries such as Brazil , USA , Australia and Canada have been working in this field for a number of years. The literature from these countries have also proven that there is no long term disadvantage to the animal if the process is done correctly. These animals reach puberty and pregnancy at the same time as their siblings that have not undergone the procedure.
The heifer born on 29 August 2019 is from an embryo produced in our brand new Absolute Genetics IVF Lab in Bloemfontein. The genetic dam of this calf is Fullblood Wagyu heifer AW180062, currently only 13 months of age.
AW180062 was only 3 months of age when she yielded the oocytes that resulted in the birth of her first heifer calf produced from imported sexed semen , thereby also providing a 95% chance for a heifer to be born. This technique has proven that it is possible to have the first female offspring born when the donor dam has just turned 1 year of age herself.
The advantages of Juvenile IVF lies in the fact that one can gain one entire generation interval – thereby accelerating genetic improvement more rapidly. The requirements are a specialist lab with trained veterinarians and staff , as well as reliable genomic information to make the selection on which animals carry superior genes.
Please contact us for any further information
Best regards
Absolute Genetics Team
