Hair follicle characteristics and fibre production in South American camelids

Genetics of fibre production and fleece characteristics in small ruminants, Angora rabbit and South American camelids.

This paper reviews genetics of fibre production and fleece characteristics in small ruminants, Angora rabbit and South American camelids with a special distinction between single-coated (SC) and double-coated (DC) species. Considering the biology of fibre production, there are variations in coat composition and structure, fibre growth pattern and fibre structure and quality between these two ma...

Reproduction in South American Camelids

Reproduction in South American Camelids

All camelids (including the Bactrian [2 humps] and Dromedary [1 hump] old world camels) have a diploid number of 74 chromosomes. Interbreeding can occur between any of these species, producing fertile offspring. In llama and alpaca are occasionally interbred, producing an animal with longer but coarser fibre length than Alpaca. These are known as Huarizo. Using artificial insemination between o...

In vitro production of embryos in South American camelids.

Studies in reproductive biotechnology techniques have been minimal in South American camelids (SAC). Complex reproductive characteristics of these species contribute to slow progress. Nevertheless, some techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection and nuclear transfer have been applied and have produced advances in knowledge on embryo environment and in vitro con...

Induction of superovulation in South American camelids.

The development of assisted reproductive technologies such as embryo transfer (ET), artificial insemination (AI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF) in South American camelids is considerably behind that of other livestock species. Poor success of the embryo transfer technique has been related to a lack of an effective superstimulatory treatment, low embryo recovery rate, and the recovery of hatch...