ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential of in vitro fertilization in relation to embryo transfer and to procedures yet on the horizon for animal breeding programs. In contrast, in vitro fertilization provides a method where individual harvested oocytes are fertilized by semen from specific individual males. In vitro fertilization may be a means of predicting fertility of sires prior to putting them in heavy service several years later. The fertilized eggs function only as incubators, so oocytes could be harvested from ovaries obtained at a slaughterhouse, and any semen sample could be used for in vitro fertilization of the oocyte, which would serve as the incubator. In vitro fertilization is a new tool for animal breeding with many potential applications. Artificial insemination has greatly improved genetics in livestock and progeny testing permits comparisons among males so that the most superior are utilized in breeding programs.
