Chinese Scientists Breed the First Cattle from Frozen Embryos

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 04, 2002

Chinese Scientists Breed the First Cattle from Frozen Embryos

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Chinese scientists have succeeded in breeding the first cattle from frozen embryos in the rarefied atmosphere of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Frozen embryos were transplanted into 22 cows living on the Chinese highlands, with an average elevation of 4,000 meters, resulting in the births of three calves, all in good health.

Transplants had been attempted previously in Tibet, but the pregnancies failed in the low oxygen atmosphere of the highland regions. Frozen semen was also used to make cows pregnant, but the embryos were improperly formed, resulting in poor quality milk and short lifespans of cows born with this technology.

The transplanted frozen embryos were developed in the Beijing Cow Research Center.

Local researchers said that the mother cows all grew up on the plateau and had inured themselves to local environment. So, the embryos were not negatively affected during the pregnancy, guaranteeing pure milk and longer life.

They said inbreeding could be avoided so long as species of embryo were chosen properly.

Popularization of Embryo Transfer Technology in China

Chinese scientists are planning to set up a training center to cultivate more people to become experts in the technology of embryonic transplantation between cattle.

The move is aimed at promoting the wider use of this technology in the country, sources said.

China has 20 years of experience in developing this technology and has now independently grasped the technology to transfer the embryo of cattle. Industrialization of the technology is going on smoothly in the country, according to the sources. Full story

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