Applied Reproductive Technologies in the Buffalo Species

In consideration of the typically low efficiency of MOET programs in buffaloes, in the past two decades there has been a mushrooming interest in the exploitation of in vitro embryo production procedures (IVEP), employed for a more rapid and targeted improvement and propagation of superior genetics from elite animals. Procedures that had been used in cattle successfully, were also used in the very first attempts in buffaloes, although a significant improvement in the efficiency of the entire process in the buffalo species has been achieved in the course of the intervening years through novel information on oocyte and embryo culture requirements. This review aims at describing the state of the art of IVEP in the buffalo species, the results and improvements obtained together with the difficulties and limitations still to be overcome.

Keywords: Buffalo, Cryopreservation, In vitro produced embryos, Sperm sexing