Home · Health · Sep 12 archive
Sahiwal Cow Gives Birth to Badri Calf via IVF in Uttarakhand
Confirmed
In Short: In an innovative reproductive technology, a Sahiwal cow in Uttarakhand has given birth to a Badri calf through in vitro fertilization, marking a significant step in preserving and improving the native cattle breed.
Researchers at the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) have successfully produced a healthy female Badri calf using in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology, according to the agriculture ministry. The calf was born on September 11 at an academic dairy farm after an embryo created through Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilization (OPU-IVF) was implanted in a Sahiwal cow, a different breed used as a surrogate.
The project, carried out by the ICAR-NDRI in collaboration with the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, was funded by the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council. Scientists collected oocytes from selected Badri donor cows and fertilized them in the laboratory with semen from a Badri bull sourced through the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board.
According to ICAR-NDRI institute Director Dheer Singh, advanced reproductive technologies such as OPU-IVF can help multiply elite female germplasm at a faster rate. He added that the birth of the Badri calf lays the groundwork for broader breed-improvement programs. The second surrogate cow is expected to give birth to another Badri calf within five to seven days.
The research team, which included scientists from the department of Veterinary Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Pantnagar University and the National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal, has been working on this project for the past three years. The team collected mature oocytes, fertilized them in vitro, and cultured the fertilized oocytes under controlled laboratory conditions for seven days, resulting in the development of Badri embryos. These embryos were then transferred into the uteruses of Sahiwal and crossbred cows at the Academic Dairy Farm.
What's confirmed
- ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI)-led researchers have produced a healthy female calf of the Badri cattle breed using in vitro fertilization technology, in an effort to preserve and multiply a native breed found in Uttarakhand, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.
- "Advanced reproductive technologies such as OPU-IVF can help multiply elite female germplasm at a faster rate," said ICAR-NDRI institute Director Dheer Singh, adding that the birth lays groundwork for broader breed-improvement programs.
- The project was carried out by the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal and G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, with funding from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council.
What's still developing
- Badri cattle are a small, hardy breed adapted to hill terrain and are designated the state animal of Uttarakhand.
- READ MORE : Pezeshkian meets Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Balkrishna and others The team is also working on cloning high-yielding Badri cows and plans to transfer both IVF- and cloning-derived embryos into a range of surrogate cows in the next phase of the project, it added.
- The ICAR-NDRI earlier used the same technology to produce calves from Sahiwal and Gir breeds of cattle, Singh told The Indian Express.