ARTs in wild felid conservation programmes in Poland and in the world

Abstract

With the exception of the domestic cat, all felid species (Felidae) are currently threatened with extinction in their natural habitat. To develop effective and optimal wild cat conservation programmes with assisted reproductive technology (ART) it is necessary to combine advances from different disciplines of science, starting from the biology of the species, through research into the population and habitat, assisted reproductive technologies, establishment of gene banks, developing bioinformatic systems, and ending with biodiversity and endangered species management. In the last few years knowledge of felid reproduction has expanded considerably thanks to comparative studies utilising the domestic cat as a research model for endangered wild cats. Basic reproductive techniques utilised in both domestic cat breeding and rescuing wild felid populations that are threatened with extinction include semen collection and cryopreservation, artificial insemination, oocyte collection, in vitro maturation, in vitro fertilisation, somatic cloning, and embryo transfer. The main directions in which assisted reproductive technologies are being developed in wild cat conservation implementations and the contribution of Polish research centres in advancing these methods are presented.

Comparison of the Morphology and Developmental Potential of Oocytes Obtained from Prepubertal and Adult Domestic and Wild Cats

“…Wild felidae are among the most endangered species in the world. Endangered wild cat species conservation programs implemented all over the world are being supported by the latest developments in the assisted reproductive technologies (ART) [ 1 ].…”

Assisted reproductive techniques in wisents: Achievements and further challenges

“…In vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques used in endangered species protection programmes could become an extremely valuable tool for obtaining offspring from individuals with reduced fertility, from isolated populations, and even many years after the death of the animal, using gametes stored in cell banks (8,14,25,28,35,40,41,49). As reported in the literature, in vitro fertilization has been performed in some wild ruminants (4) and in over 10 species of the Felidae family ( 14) (40).…”

“…As reported in the literature, in vitro fertilization has been performed in some wild ruminants (4) and in over 10 species of the Felidae family ( 14) (40). The effectiveness of classical in vitro fertilization depends on the semen quality, which is not always high in the case of semen from wild animals (28). However, the technique of injecting sperm directly into the ooplasm (ICSI) makes it possible to obtain offspring despite unsatisfactory sperm parameters.…”

“…The usefulness of ICSI has been demonstrated in wild felids, in which the quality of sperm is often insufficient to conduct the classical procedure of in vitro fertilization. However, it is an expensive tech-nique, requiring appropriate equipment and qualified personnel (28). The effective application of classical in vitro fertilization in cattle and efforts to improve the quality of post-thawed wisent semen give hope that the introduction of ICSI into the wisent biodiversity protection programme will not be necessary.…”

The perspective of the incompatible of nucleus and mitochondria in interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer for endangered species

“…In Poland, the first bank of wild cat fibroblasts has been established. The bank's resources are continually being expanded and currently possess frozen fibroblast cell lines from 14 wild cat species (Kochan et al., 2019). Gene resources are invaluable for conservation, assisted reproduction, evolutionary biology and wildlife medicine.…”