Laboratory production of cattle embryos

This book is devoted to technologies which are still developing but which are likely to take over from artificial insemination as the farmer's main tool to produce large numbers of high-quality calves. Cattle oocyte recovery, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer are techniques which permit cows to produce calves of a genetic quality and composition quite unlike that of the surrogate mother herself. They also enable cows, under suitable conditions, to produce two calves rather than one. There are now over one hundred laboratories involved in producing cattle embryos by in vitro maturation and fertilization of oocytes. Indeed the author's own work has led to the establishment of a biotechnology company which has commercialized the production process. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, this book sets out current knowledge of the laboratory production of cattle embryos and the way in which such embryos might be used in commercial application and research. It is shown that the processes may be the starting point for many other developments in cattle breeding and in future be applied to other farm animals and also humans. The book, written by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject, is a major reference work for those in the academic and commercial sectors concerned with animal breeding, reproduction and biotechnology.