Ag students hear of future of embryo transfer
University of Florida professor Peter M. Hansen gave USU students the opportunity to learn about different research methods in a field that is becoming increasingly complex: dairy cattle and embryo transfer. Hansen spoke to students, faculty and alumni about his own research during a lecture in the Merrill-Cazier Library Thursday.
Embryo transfer is a method where eggs are taken from the donor cow, fertilized and placed in recipient cattle that carry the fertilized eggs to term. This allows for genetics of superior dam cattle to be better utilized, Hansen said.
“My real interest in embryo transfer relates to … developing practical on-farm procedures for in vitro fertilization of cattle,” Hansen said.
During the course of his lecture “Growth Factors and Cytokines that Function in Maternal Regulation of Pre-implantation Embryonic Development in Cattle,” Hansen explained that cattle under heat stress establish pregnancy at lower rates.
“We are interested in embryo transfer specifically as a way to bypass infertility in dairy cows,” he said.
He said he and his team have produced evidence to suggest using some cytokines during in vitro fertilization allows for higher rates of pregnancy by enabling embryos to resist certain kinds of stress.
This particular research focuses on cattle in heat-stressed situations. Much of his experimentation was carried out on a dairy farm in southern Georgia where he said he studied cattle showing a higher rate of pregnancy when given insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Hansen said the studies showed the IGF-1 blocked the effects of heat stress on embryos by creating a barrier around the embryo.
Hansen said he also researched another growth factor, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and found that it has a positive effect on pregnancy rates in dairy cattle during autumn and winter months.
This research, though specific, is part of a bigger picture, he said.
“We want to use embryo transfer as (a widespread) method to get cows pregnant,” Hansen said.
Improvements upon the technology are required before this would be possible, he said.
“We have to decrease cost or increase success,” he said.
Hansen and his team are working to reach better success rates and make embryo transfer available to dairy farmers on a commercial basis, “and I think we are succeeding,” Hansen said.
The effects of Hansen’s research could reach beyond the boundaries of commercial dairy farms. USU Associate Professor Lee Rickords said he believes some discoveries and techniques learned through Hansen’s research could have an effect on cloning research at Utah State University.
The Center for Integrated Biosystems Utah State produced the first cloned mule in 2003. According to the USU Web site, the center’s goal “is to maximize CIB’s biotechnology contributions and accomplishments in the Western Region, while providing tools that allow others to do the same.”
It was through the center that Hansen was able to present his research at USU.
–jacie.fasselin@aggiemail.usu.edu