Technical note: porcine non-surgical embryo transfer.
The cervix is a barrier for transferring porcine embryos non-surgically. A non-surgical embryo transfer instrument composed of four parts has been developed that allows the delivery of embryos into the lumen of one uterine horn. Part 1, a modified artificial insemination spirette, is used to produce a cervical lock and to assist in manipulating Part 2 through the cervix. Part 2 is made of stainless steel tubing with a unique curved tip that can be manipulated through the folds of the cervix. Part 3 is a testing bar to ensure that the tip of Part 2 reaches the bifurcation of the uterus. Part 4, a disposable tubing complex for embryo delivery, is composed of a soft plastic leader tubing, a double opened connector for embryo loading and unloading, a semi-hard plastic tubing, and a hard tubing with a water-sealable plunger. Embryos (4-cell to blastocyst stages) were surgically collected and maintained in vitro up to 5 h before the non-surgical embryo transfer. Five of 16 recipients became pregnant (31%) and farrowed an average of 6.2 +/- 3.1 pigs per litter. This easily learned non-surgical embryo transfer technique will simplify embryo transfer in the swine industry and may lead to improvements in swine breeding and scientific research.
Li
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Department of Animal Science, University of Missouri-Columbia 65211, USA.
Rieke
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Prather
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D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D008098:Litter Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D013552:Swine / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology*