Animal (Jan 2018)
Review: Semen sexing – current state of the art with emphasis on bovine species
Abstract
It is approaching three decades since the first public evidence of sex-sorting ofsemen. The technology has progressed considerably since then with a number ofinstitutions and researchers collaborating to eventually bring this toapplication. The technical challenges have been quite substantial and in theearly years the application was limited to only heifer inseminations. Comparablefertility of sex-sorted semen with conventional semen has been an aspirationalbenchmark for the industry for many years. Significant investment in research inthe primary biology of sex-sorted sperm and associated sorting equipment ensuredsteady progress over the years and current methods particularly the newSexedULTRA-4M™ seems to have now mostly bridged this fertility gap.The dairy and beef industry have adopted this technology quite rapidly. Otheranimal industries are progressively testing it for application in their specificniches and environments. The current state of the art in the fundamentals ofsex-sorting, the biology of the process as well as new developments in machineryare described in this review.
