The Eeva Test, an automated, time-lapse enabled prognostic test, used adjunctively with morphology, is informative in helping embryologists with various levels of experience select embryos with high developmental potential.

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Heritability of reproductive traits is relatively low, leaving only management strategies as an alternative to affect reproductive efficiency in beef cattle. The use of assisted reproductive technologies such as fixed-timed AI (FTAI) offers the ability to increase reproductive efficiency through selection of superior genetics and manipulation of calving dates through estrous-synchronization protocols. Application of these technologies has not been fully embraced by cattlemen due to variation in success rate, primarily associated with the apparent lack of control of follicular waves. While it has been reported that an endogenous increase in FSH precedes the emergence of follicular waves in cattle, we could find no reports on the effects of exogenous FSH on FTAI pregnancy rates. Artificial insemination remains the most important reproductive technology that could positively affect cattlemen. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that incorporation of FSH into the CO-Synch synchronization protocol would increase FTAI pregnancy rates in beef cattle. Crossbred beef cows (n = 182) with a mean body weight (BW) of 596 ± 6.6 kg and mean body condition score (BCS) of 5.4 ± 0.07 from 3 different locations were stratified across treatment groups by BW, BCS, and days postpartum or cyclicity status based on plasma progesterone concentrations. Females were estrus synchronized using the 7-day CO-Synch+CIDR protocol. All females received a CIDR insert and 100 µg of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH; Factrel) on Day 0, followed by CIDR removal, 25 mg of prostaglandin (Lutalyse) IM and fitted with an estrus-detection patch (Estrotect) on Day 7. On Day 2, all females (n = 92) in the FSH treatment group were administered 20 mg of FSH (Folltropin) IM and the remaining females (n = 90) served as nontreated controls. Fixed-timed AI was performed at 72 h following CIDR removal when all females were administered 100 µg of GnRH and the estrus-detection patch was evaluated. The overall FTAI pregnancy rate was 55% (100/182) and there was no difference (P = 0.41) in pregnancy rates across locations so the data were pooled and reanalyzed. Pregnancy rates were not affected (P = 0.54) by treatment group and were 52% (48/92) for the FSH-treated females and 58% (52/90) for the nontreated control group. Similarly, based on evaluation of the estrus-detection patch, there was no difference (P = 0.68) in the percentage of females responding to the synchronization protocol [61% (55/92) v. 68% (61/90)] and no difference (P = 0.55) in the pregnancy rate of responding females [62% (34/55) v. 69% (42/61)] for the FSH-treated and nontreated control groups, respectively. In conclusion, administration of FSH 10 days prior to FTAI in CO-Synch+CIDR synchronized crossbred beef cows did not increase subsequent pregnancy rates. However, exogenous FSH administration should be evaluated further to determine its effects, if any, on follicular dynamics related to FTAI in the lactating beef cow.

To determine the requirements for in vitro production of white-tailed deer embryos, media components that induce sperm capacitation and an acrosome reaction (AR) should first be identified. Typically, in vitro production protocols are species specific with regard to media composition and capacitating agents (CA). Comparison of the bovine and red deer systems revealed a distinct difference in the CA utilised [heparin v. 20% sheep serum (SS), respectively] and in the amount of bicarbonate and Ca2+ necessary for fertilization to occur. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of 2 CA (heparin and SS) to induce the capacitation of white-tailed deer epididymal sperm in either a standard bovine (BIVF) or red deer-formulated (DSOF) fertilization medium. Epididymal spermatozoa were collected from fair-chase bucks (n = 15), extended with Triladyl (48 to 147 × 106 sperm mL–1), and frozen in LN2 vapor. Live spermatozoa were selected from frozen–thawed semen samples from each buck and reconstituted (55 × 106 sperm mL–1) in either BIVF or DSOF and supplemented with either heparin (10 µg mL–1) or SS, or were nontreated controls. Samples were then incubated at 37°C for either zero [treatment (T) 0], 2 (T2), or 4 (T4) hours and the AR was artificially induced using lysophosphatidylcholine (100 µg mL–1). After AR induction, treatments were labelled with PI/PNA and M540/YoPro-1 so that live cells, acrosomal status, and membrane lipid disorders could be analysed by flow cytometry after each incubation period (T0, T2, and T4). The media (P = 0.42), CA (P = 0.38), or their interaction (P = 0.68) did not affect the percentage of live acrosome-intact spermatozoa across time (P = 0.73). The percentage of lipid disruption was higher (P < 0.001) in SS and changed (P = 0.005) across time. Data obtained from this study showed that unlike for red deer, increased bicarbonate and Ca2+ are not necessary to induce capacitation of white-tailed deer epididymal spermatozoa. Although SS did not appear to affect the number of live acrosome-intact spermatozoa, its presence did alter the lipid architecture of the sperm plasma membrane.

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