Sahiwal cow gives birth to Badri calf via IVF in Uttarakhand

Dr Dheer Singh, Director, ICAR-NDRI, Karnal, said advanced reproductive technologies such as OPU-IVF can help multiply elite female germplasm at a faster rate and support the development of structured breed-improvement and germplasm-conservation programmes for Badri cattle.

The ICAR-NDRI earlier used the same technology to produce calves from Sahiwal and Gir breeds of cattle, Singh told The Indian Express.

Dr Praveen Malik, Chief Executive Officer, Agrinnovate India, hailed the development and termed it an important milestone in conservation of indigenous breeds.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, the research programme on Badri was initiated in 2023 under the leadership and initiative of Dr M S Chauhan, the then Vice-Chancellor of GB Pant University.

“Under the OPU-IVF programme, oocytes were collected from selected genetically valuable Badri donor cows through ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up. The collected oocytes were matured and subsequently fertilised in vitro using semen from a genetically superior Badri bull obtained through the Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board. The resulting embryos were cultured under controlled laboratory conditions and subsequently transferred into appropriately synchronised recipient cows. One such Badri embryo was successfully transferred into a Sahiwal recipient cow, which subsequently gave birth to a healthy Badri female calf,” the ministry said.

The ministry further said that another synchronised crossbred recipient cow is also expected to deliver a Badri calf within the next 5-7 days.

“The successful production of a Badri calf through OPU-IVF represents an important step towards establishing a technology-based programme for the conservation, multiplication and genetic improvement of Badri cattle germplasm in Uttarakhand. The technology enables the production of multiple embryos from genetically superior female animals and can thereby increase the rate of multiplication of elite germplasm compared to conventional reproductive approaches,” it added.

The programme is also reportedly exploring the cloning of elite and high-producing Badri cows.

“The collaborating team has successfully generated cloned Badri embryos through multiple stages of the ongoing research. In the next phase, OPU-IVF- and cloning-derived embryos are planned to be transferred into suitable Sahiwal, crossbred and Badri recipient cows. These efforts are aimed at accelerating the multiplication of superior Badri germplasm and contributing to the long-term conservation and genetic improvement of the indigenous breed,” the ministry remarked.