China Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine ›› 2023, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (11): 4504-4512.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2023.11.019

• Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A Review on in vivo Superovulation Response Trait in Dairy Cows

HUANG Yuechuan1,2, ZHANG Hailiang2, ZHAO Shanjiang4, LIU Zhanpeng3, ZHU Huabin4, HUANG Xixia1, WANG Yachun2   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China;
    2. State Key Laboratory of Farm Animal Biotech Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;
    3. National Center of Technology Innovation for Dairy, Hohhot 010020, China;
    4. Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
  • Received:2023-04-20 Online:2023-11-05 Published:2023-10-27

Abstract: In the modern dairy industry, the multiple ovulation and embryo transfer (MOET) is the key technology, which can significantly accelerate the genetic improvement of dairy population.However, there is a large variation in superovulation response among different donor cows, which is one of the major limitations for the widely applying of superovulation.Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore the causes of variation in superovulation response and to predict the effect of exogenous hormone treatment for donor cows so that suitable donors can be selected.In previous studies, it had been widely reported that the superovulation response trait is heritable in dairy cows, and that genetic selection can substantially improve superovulation efficiency.In general, superovulation response trait is defined as the total number of embryos as well as the number of transferable embryos.Superovulation response trait can be influenced by several factors, including season, donor age, procedure and operator.As a novel reproductive trait with low to medium heritability, it was found to be associated with several genes that regulate the expression of reproductive hormones and cell growth and differentiation.At present, there are relatively few studies on genetics and breeding of superovulation response trait in China, and only a few studies reported candidate genes associated with superovulation response trait.The author systematically reviewed the advance of superovulation response trait in dairy cattle, including the trait definition, modeling of non-genetic factors, estimation of genetic parameters, and identification of candidate genes.In addition, we also discussed the research methods and application of superovulation response trait in the future.

Key words: dairy cow; superovulation; genetic parameter; genetic marker; candidate gene

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