Comparison of Two Biopsy Methods in Bovine Embryos

In this study, the accuracy of sex identification, the viability of biopsied embryos, and the pregnancy rate after biopsied embryo transfer were compared in bovine embryos biopsied by two methods (cutting and pipetting). The cells were more efficiently collected by the pipetting method (2.4±2.0 cells), and the success rate of sex identification was 94.8%. Moreover, the survival, and pregnancy rates of embryo biopsied by pipetting method were 91.7 and 68.0%, respectively, and were numerically higher than those seen in the cutting group (84.4 and 56.5%). From these results, the pipetting method appears to be a simple cell collection method of bovine embryos for sex identification, and assures greater safety of the biopsy process and better embryonic development after biopsy.