Abstract

The purpose of this research was to find the most suitable embryo biopsy technique that would yield the highest pregnancy rates after the transfer of sexed frozen-thawed bovine embryos. Three methods of embryo biopsy (needle, blade or aspiration) were applied on 120 bovine embryos divided into 3 batches (n = 40). Subsequently, the embryos were frozen/thawed and transferred to synchronized recipients. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed 30 days later using an ultrasound scanner. The results show a significant difference in pregnancy rates according to the biopsy method: 55% for the needle biopsy, 45% for the aspiration method and 30% for the microblade technique.

Key words: Embryo, biopsy, sexing, cryopreservation, pregnancy.