BM_2025v16n6

Bioscience Methods 2025, Vol.16, No.6, 308-316 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/bm 312 5 Case Study Analysis 5.1 IVF application case at a buffalo breeding center in India In India, the breeding of water buffaloes has actually been systematically advanced for a long time and is not a recent attempt. Artificial insemination technology was introduced as early as 1939, and later on, methods such as frozen semen and simultaneous estrus were continuously added. Interestingly, although technological tools are constantly changing, the goal has never changed: it is to find ways to improve genetic quality and milk production capacity. For instance, national-level projects such as the "Cattle and Water Buffalo Breeding Project" and the "National Dairy Cow Program" have made the promotion of artificial insemination more procedural. The average daily milk production has also increased from 3.4 kilograms in 1992 to 4.57 kilograms in 2009-2010. By 2010-2011, India was able to perform over 52 million artificial inseminations a year, and the average pregnancy rate remained at around 35%. Of course, it doesn't mean that everything has been settled. The current research focus has shifted to synchronous control and the improvement of semen quality. In vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET) are also increasingly being used in breeding programs, with the aim of having more technical leverage when facing reproductive challenges (Singh and Balhara, 2016). 5.2 Performance and experience of AI promotion program in the Philippines The development of water buffaloes in the Philippines has not been idle either, especially in the field of artificial insemination. They started early and did it quite solidly. The Philippine Buffalo Center (PCC) has simply integrated a complete set of timing artificial insemination (FTAI) strategies, such as CIR-Synch-HCG and the dual PGF2α protocol for summer use. These practices are mainly aimed at addressing the problems of difficult observation of estrus and low seasonal conception rates. In their gene bank farm, the effects of these programs were not bad - the conception rate rose to 52.6% in the summer of 2023 and was even higher in 2024, reaching 57.1%, while the control group remained at 27.3%. Behind this achievement, there is actually a set of supporting mechanisms: technicians need to be trained well first, and they also need to monitor reproductive indicators such as estrus signs and follicular size in real time before deciding on the timing of fertilization. The milk production also increased accordingly, indicating that this method not only works but also enables the farm to operate stably (Atabay et al., 2023; Fajardo et al., 2024; Maylem et al., 2025). However, then again, these good experiences cannot be replicated everywhere. After all, the success of artificial insemination is also related to the operator's level, animal management and even the weather (Ybanez et al., 2017). 5.3 Implementation and evaluation of OPU-ET trials in Southern China In southern China, breeding techniques are becoming increasingly refined, especially the combined application of OPU-ET and IVF. On the experimental platform, many hybrid and purebred water buffaloes have adopted these methods. The improved concurrent estrus protocol was not proposed out of thin air. The approach like GPGMH, which combines mifepristone and hCG, is an adjustment based on the original Ovsynch. According to the data, the pregnancy rate brought about by this approach can be as high as 47.1% (Figure 2) (Abulaiti et al., 2021). Of course, the effectiveness of synchronous strategies like Ovsynch is not solely determined by the sound of the protocol name. Meta-analysis results show that the pregnancy rate of artificial insemination can be stably maintained between 42.6% and 46.4%, provided that the water buffaloes are operated during their estrus cycle. If it is during the non-estrus period, don't expect such a good outcome (Du et al., 2021). On the other hand, the use of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) before oocyte retrieval can significantly increase the quantity and quality of oocytes, which in turn increases the embryo production rate and improves the development of blastocysts (Sakaguchi et al., 2019). Overall, these technological combinations have significantly enhanced the efficiency of genetic improvement for water buffaloes and opened up new avenues for addressing the long-standing problem of low reproductive capacity. 6 Challenges in Technology Dissemination and Management 6.1 Cost of technology, equipment, and technical staff training Ultimately, for assisted reproductive technology (ART) to truly take root, money is an unavoidable issue. Whether it is timed artificial insemination (FTAI), in vitro embryo transfer (IVEP), or embryo transfer (ET), they all rely on a complete set of equipment, hormones, and a well-equipped laboratory environment. None of these are cheap,

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