Heritage breed cattle (HB) can be successfully superovulated using standard protocols resulting in an acceptable yield of transferable embryos (TE).Introduction The commercial dairy cattle industry has been experiencing a trend toward decreasing fertility rates as a result of intensive genetic selection for fluid milk production (McGinnis, 2009). HB have not undergone this same selection pressure and in the future may become a valuable reservoir of lost genetic material, including genes that regulate fertility. SVF Foundation (SVF) was established in 2002 to create an ex situ repository for germplasm, including cryopreserved embryos from heritage breeds of livestock (Roof et al, 2012). Because of genetic differences there was concern HB might respond differently to standard superovulatory protocols. The objective of this study was to compare superovulatory response (total ova/coll) of HB cows at SVF to the response of Holstein-Friesian cows (HF) superovulated under similar conditions.
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