Submit Article |Resources | Link to us | Sitemap | Search | Language
Back to Home
Home >> In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer in Humans and Livestock >> In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer in Humans and Livestock
Back to Home

In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer in Humans and Livestock
In case of animals, therefore, only the gametes (oocytes and spermatocytes) can be manipulated and used for the development of an animal.In view of this it was important that the techniques are developed which will allow

(i) recovery of oocytes in large number

(ii) fertilization of these oocytes in vitro (outside the body of the animal);

(iii) transfer of the fertilized ovum to an appropriate place in the body of the animal followed by

(iv) proper development of the embryo.

During the last one decade, great effort has been directed in refining these techniques and sufficient progress in this direction has actually been made not only in animals (cattle, goats, sheep, swine, chicken, etc.), but also in human beings.

It is hoped that these developments will lead to genetic improvement of farm animals leading to high growth rates and increased milk production. In human beings, after successful recovery of viable oocytes, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) followed by normal development of the fetus, the birth of a baby named Louise joy Brown (on July 25, 1978), is considered to be a sensational event of great scientific importance and human health care.

The development of these techniques has already led to the treatment of a variety of infertilities in human beings. The above techniques involving collection of oocytes, in vitro fertilization, sexing of embryos and embryo transfer (particularly in human beings; but to some extent also in animals like cows, goats, pigs, sheep, swine, etc).

In the next chapter we will discuss the techniques used for the transfection of eggs or embryos in animals using recombinant DNA technology, leading to the development of transgenic animals

 
 

 
Submit Article |Resources | Link to us | Sitemap | Search | Language
English|Français|Español|Deutsch|Italiano|Portugues|Japanese|Korean|Sim-Chinese| Language