Artificial insemination of female animals and in vitro fertilization of oocytes with fresh or frozen-thawed semen have been applied to the reproduction of animals. According to the traditional theory and conventional procedures, a great number of sperm cells are needed to ensure a successful fertilization.
However, semen from certain animals and sex-selected inseminates which are produced by separating X-chromosome bearing sperm cells from Y-chromosome bearing sperm cells can be in limited supply. Additionally, the sperm cells of certain animals and sex-selected inseminates can have reduced fertility or cannot achieve the threshold of fertility in the context of conventional procedures for successful fertilization. In the cases of limited specific genetic resources, or the suspension of spermatozoa of the semen can not reach the threshold of fertility, a complementary technology may be needed to solve the problems.
Additionally, semen from certain animals and sex-selected inseminates when frozen by conventional methods and then thawed can have a substantially reduced motility, percent intact acrosomes and survival time all of which can militate against successful use of frozen-thawed semen and sex-selected inseminates for artificial insemination of female animals.
The inventive reduced dose inseminate (or low dose inseminate) described-herein addresses each of the above-described problems.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds