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2026 Vol.2, Issue 3 Preview Page

Review Article

In vitro embryo production in cattle: technology, determinants of efficiency, and applications in breeding
Baasanjav Batmunkh1
,
Enkhbolor Barsuren1*
1Livestock Technology Advancement Center, School of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Mongolian University of Life Sciences (MULS), Ulaanbaatar 17024, Mongolia
*Corresponding Author
30 September 2026. pp. 266-277
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Abstract

In vitro production (IVP) has become the dominant embryo technology in cattle. Global records show that more than two million transferable IVP embryos were produced in 2024, over sevenfold the number recovered by superovulation and approximately 87% of all bovine embryo activity. This review summarizes the technology stage by stage ovum pick-up (OPU), in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF), in vitro culture (IVC), and cryopreservation and transfer and evaluates the factors that determine its outcome. Approximately 80–90% of oocytes reach metaphase II and about 80% cleave, yet only 20–40% yield a transferable blastocyst and roughly half of transferred embryos establish a pregnancy. Environment partitioning experiments indicate that competence is lost principally during maturation and fertilization rather than during culture. Donor antral follicle count and anti-müllerian hormone, subspecies, sire identity, laboratory conditions and recipient receptivity each contribute substantial variance. IVP embryos differ from in vivo counterparts in lipid content, transcriptome, epigenome and chromosomal integrity, with consequences for cryotolerance and pregnancy maintenance. Applications in breeding are considered, including compression of the generation interval through juvenile OPU, integration with genomic selection and sexed semen, and conservation of indigenous genetic resources. Emerging approaches biphasic maturation, oviduct-mimetic culture, morphokinetic selection and stem cell based in vitro breeding are reviewed with attention to the strength of the supporting evidence.

Keywords
Bovine
Genomic selection
In vitro embryo
Oocyte
Ovum pick-up
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Information
  • Publisher :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Publisher(Ko) :한경국립대학교 휴머니멀응용과학연구소
  • Journal Title :Journal of Humanimal Sciences
  • Journal Title(Ko) :휴머니멀과학학술지
  • Volume : 2
  • No :3
  • Pages :266-277
  • Received Date : 2026-09-01
  • Accepted Date : 2026-09-06
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.23341/jhas.2026.2.3.266
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