Assisted reproductive technologies: the history and role in the development of genetic technologies in cattle (review)

The development of technologies of “active” transgenesis has allowed targeted modifications (gene editing, GE) in the genome of farm animals of different species with relatively high efficiency (reviewed by S.Y. Yum et al., 2018; A.L. Van Eenennaam, 2019; N.A. Zinovieva et al., 2019). However, effective improvement of livestock production systems based on GE technologies requires the development of an integrated approaches combined with biotechnology, population genetics, quantitative genomics and advanced reproductive technologies (ART) (C. Rexroad et al., 2019). The development of ART, including obtaining germ plasma for gene editing from animals with the desired genetic characteristics, the effective production of GE-offspring and its as possible earlier multiplication are an integral part of the successful development and implementation of GE technologies in cattle breeding (A.L. Van Eenennaam, 2019). This review provides a retrospective analysis of the development of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), including artificial insemination (R.H. Foote, 2002; R.G. Saacke, 2012; P. Lonergan, 2018), embryo transfer (K.J. Betteridge, 2003; R.J. Mapletoft, 2013), in vitro production of embryos (IVP) (L. Ferré et al., 2019), oocyte retrieval on living animals - Ovum-Pick-Up (R. Boni, 2012; M. Qi et al., 2013), and somatic cell nuclear transfer (C.L. Keefer, 2015; K.R. Bondioli, 2018; A.V. Lopukhov et al., 2019). We describe the state of the art of research and discuss the areas of further improvement of ART for the development of genetic technologies in cattle breeding, including gene editing. The review shows that for more than 100 years of history, significant progress has been made in the development of assisted reproductive technologies of cattle, many of which are now actively used in practical animal breeding (C. Smith, 1988; L. Ferré et al., 2019) and became the basis for the development of effective programs for genetic improvement of livestock, including genomic selection (P.M. VanRaden et al., 2009). Current research priorities are focused on ensuring further progress in cattle breeding through the integration of GE technologies into livestock breeding programs (C. Rexroad et al., 2019, A.L. Van Eenennaam, 2019). Assisted reproductive technologies will play a crucial role in this ambitious task.