Artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer (ET) play an important role in the genetic improvement of sheep herds. This review primarily describes the methods that have recently been researched and/or adapted to circumvent the problematic anatomy of the ovine cervix, which prevents the widespread application of transcervical AI and ET in this species. A mechanism of cervical ripening at pa...

Various assisted reproductive techniques have been developed and refined to obtain a large number of offspring from genetically superior animals or obtain offspring from infertile (or subfertile) animals. The embryo transfer is one assisted reproductive technique developed well, aimed at increased productivity of selected females, disease control, importation and exportation of livestock, rapid...

Background: This study was designed to respond to the controversy regarding the necessity of oocyte activation after the ICSI procedure for normal embryo development in sheep. Materials and Methods: The effect of chemical stimulation with either 5mM ionomycin (I) for 5 minutes or ionomycin + 2 mM 6-dimethylaminopurine (6-DMAP) for 3 hours on the efficiency of ICSI, was compared in six experimen...

Through the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART), we will be able to extend the use of genetically superior animals, and perhaps increase the number of offspring. These technologies include such procedures as estrus synchronization, superovulation, artificial insemination, embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and cloning. Because they exhibit seasonal breeding and multiple ov...

Hydatid disease is a cyclozoonotic infection caused by the cestode genus Echinococcus. It occurs throughout the world and is especially common in sheep- and cattle-raising regions of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, the Middle East, South America, and the Mediterranean. The incidence of humans infected with hydatid disease is approximately 1-2:1000. It is higher in rural areas. Infection ...

Human cloning refers to the production of genetically identical humans. This cloning is possible via either ‘‘embryo splitting’’ or ‘‘nuclear transfer’’. Embryo splitting involves the separation of an early human embryo into two or more parts. Each of these parts has the potential to develop into a blastocyst (late embryo), which, if implanted, can develop into a child. This is how genetically ...

At the beginning of the 1990s, co-culture of cattle and sheep embryos was the most favoured method to support embryo development, but the use of this system has hampered progress in raising the efficiency of embryo production. Furthermore, little was known of the requirements of embryos and the biochemistry of early embryo development. As the decade progressed, energy metabolism studies improve...

The aim of this experiment was to examine whether a simplified mini-laparotomy technique is suitable for embryo transfer in ewes. In vitro produced blastocysts were transferred to the uterine horns of synchronous recipient ewes. Each recipient received 1 embryo by conventional laparotomy (n = 36), laparoscopy (n = 21), or by simplified mini-laparotomy (n = 33). Pregnancy rates for these 3 trans...