Russian and Chinese scientists will jointly select breeding bulls

Scientists from Russia and China will jointly select breeding bulls to produce highly productive offspring.

MOSCOW, October 5 – RIA Novosti. The selection of sires capable of producing highly productive offspring will be carried out jointly by scientists from Russia and China, said Elena Korochkina, head of the department of genetic and reproductive biotechnologies at the St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine. As part of the international project “Scientists of the Future,” she told RIA Novosti about advanced strategies for assessing animal fertility.

“The main task of genomic selection is to quickly select a “parent” who is capable of producing highly productive offspring, for example, growing faster or producing more meat and milk. At the same time, there are cows all over the world, but there are not so many “ideal” producers, so it is necessary to quickly select them and preserve their genetic material so that it does not lose its properties during cryopreservation,” Korochkina explained.

She added that Russian scientists have developed solutions for quickly assessing the fertility of sires with valuable genetic material. The strategy is based on a comprehensive assessment, including assessment of morphology, motility, acrosome integrity, determination of the DNA fragmentation index, and the ability of sperm to bind to hyaluronic acid. This analysis allows us to exclude the male factor of infertility and form a breeding core of sires with high genetic and reproductive potential.

To preserve the germ cells of the most valuable individuals, domestic experts suggest using media containing exosomes of mesenchymal stem cells, which have a high regenerative potential.

According to Korochkina, the addition of exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells—the universal “building material” of the body—makes it possible to preserve a larger number of reproductive cells of breeding bulls during the cryopreservation process. Researchers are also exploring the regenerative potential of mesenchymal stem cell exosomes as rehabilitation media used for breeder seed after thawing.

“At the moment, we have created the entire theoretical base, and we will implement the selection and genetic plan together with our Chinese colleagues. We plan to modify the protocols of assisted reproductive technologies used in livestock farming, which will allow us to realize the genetic and reproductive potential of cows and improve the quality of their offspring,” Korochkina told RIA Novosti on the eve of her trip to China, where, as part of the “Scientists of the Future” project, she will give a report “Basic ways to effectively implement genetic and reproductive potential of farm animals."

The “Scientists of the Future” project is aimed at high school students, students, graduate students and young professionals who choose their path in science, strive to keep abreast of current research and consider future educational trajectories.