Comparative reproduction of the female horse, elephant and rhinoceros: implications for advancing assisted reproductive technologies

Recent loss of rhinoceros subspecies has renewed interest in using more advanced assisted reproductive technologies (ART) in rhinoceroses and elephants. Currently, only semen collection, semen preservation and artificial insemination (AI) have been used repeatedly with success in these species. Although ovum pick-up (OPU) and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have been reported recently in rhinoceroses, the techniques are not yet optimised. In contrast, multiple ART applications are routinely used in the horse. Since elephants and rhinoceroses share some reproductive features with equids, we postulate that procedures such as OPU, ICSI, in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET), which are well established in the horse, may represent a basis to develop protocols for endangered pachyderms. In this review, we summarise current knowledge on reproductive physiology relevant to ART. We discuss the current state of ART in all three families and the requirements for the successful implementation of OPU, ICSI, IVF and ET in these species

First report of mule in mule pregnancies with live births following embryo transfer

Many of the equid species can interbreed to produce viable but usually infertile offspring, with the mule (♂donkey [2n=62] × ♀mare [2n=64]) being the commonest of these hybrids. Despite its reduced ability to breed successfully, the mule has been shown capable of carrying and rearing horse and donkey foals using between-species embryo transfer (ET).Fil: Fanelli, D.. Università degli Studi di Pisa; ItaliaFil: Losinno, Luis. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Castañeira, C... Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Alonso, C.. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Flores Bragulat, Ana Paula. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomía y Veterinaria. Departamento de Producción Animal; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Panzani, D.. Università degli Studi di Pisa; ItaliaFil: Bocci, C.. Università degli Studi di Pisa; ItaliaFil: Degl'Innocenti, A.. Università degli Studi di Siena; ItaliaFil: Moroni, R.. Università degli Studi di Pisa; ItaliaFil: Camillo, F.. Università degli Studi di Pisa; ItaliaFil: Wilsher, S.. Sharjah Equine Hospital; Emiratos Arabes UnidosFil: (Twink) Allen, W. R.. Sharjah Equine Hospital; Emiratos Arabes Unido