title: Recent advances toward the practical application of embryo transfer in pigs.
abstract: Porcine embryo transfer (ET) technology has been in demand for decades because of its potential to provide considerable improvements in pig production with important sanitary, economic, and animal welfare benefits. Despite these advantages, the commercial use of ET is practically nonexistent. However, the two main obstacles hindering the commercial use of ET in pigs in the past several decades (i.e., surgical transfer and embryo preservation) have recently been overcome. A technique for nonsurgical deep-uterine (NsDU) ET of nonsedated gilts and sows, which was seemingly an impossible challenge just a few years ago, is a reality today. The improvements in embryo preservation that have been achieved in recent years and the excellent reproductive performance of the recipients after the NsDU-ET technique coupled with short-term and long-term-stored embryos represent essential progress for the international trade of porcine embryos and the practical use of ET by the pig industry. This review focuses, with an emphasis on our own findings, on the recent advances in embryo preservation and NsDU-ET technologies, which are starting to show potential for application under field conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: emilio@um.es.
authors.forename: Emilio A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuello
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parrilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nohalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gil
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D013552:Swine / Q000502:physiology*; D014021:Tissue Preservation
keywords: Cryopreservation; Embryo storage; Nonsurgical embryo transfer; Porcine; Vitrification