A Novel Discipline in Embryology — Animal Embryo Breeding

The modern animal biotechnologies, such as animal cloning, transgenesis, sex determina‐ tion, stem cells, designing new livestock, must be performed on animal gametes includ‐ ing sperm and oocytes, and embryos based on embryology theory. Currently, some key biotechnologies in embryology have become the most powerful tool for animal scientists and breeders to improve genetic construction of animal herds. Here, authors put forward a new concept of Animal Embryo Breeding Science to describe this discipline formation, development, and application in animal genetic improvement and breeding. The relation‐ ship of embryo breeding with other disciplines has been profiled. Thus, animal scientists and breeders can easily understand and apply embryo breeding theory and related key techniques to accelerate animal improvement speed, to modify genetic construction of animal population, and to design and create new animal individual or breed.