Abstract: Nowadays,the donkey industry is shifting from short-term fattening to a new breeding model for sustainable development.Similar to other livestock and poultry breeds,the transformation of the donkey industry is also based on the expansion of good populations and the improvement of breeds' quality,and the breeding of good-quality is a key step to increase the quantity and improve the quality of donkeys.However,one of the main factors in restricting the transformation of donkey industry is low reproduction capacity.Low reproduction capacity in donkey not only impacts the expansion speed of the existing donkey,and widens the gap between the stock and the rising demand for skin,meat and milk,but also prolongs the breeding cycle of new breeds.Studies have shown that assisted breeding techniques play important roles in improving the reproductive performance of female donkeys and the genetic traits of donkeys.Assisted reproduction technologies such as simultaneous estrus,ovulation control,artificial insemination and embryo transplantation can largely improve the reproductive capacity of female donkeys.Meanwhile,a series of molecular breeding technologies including microsatellite labeling,mitochondrial DNA sequencing,single nucleotide polymorphism analysis and whole genome selection can further accelerate the genetic improvement of donkeys.Here,a brief review of the studies on the reproductive physiology of the donkey was presented,and then,systematically summarized the progress of recent research on the roles of assisted breeding technologies (simultaneous estrus,ovulation control,artificial insemination,embryo transplantation,molecular marker assistant breeding and genomics-based selection) in donkeys,and made prospects for future research directions.This paper would provide an important reference for improving the reproductive performance of female donkeys and the effective clues to the donkey molecular breeding.

Key words: donkey; assistant reproduction; molecular breeding