THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL BREEDING TOOL IN CATTLE PRODUCTION. THE ENVISIONED IMPACT IS PROVIDING NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR ENHANCING TRAITS RELATED TO THE GENERATION OF FOODSTUFFS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. THE OVERARCHING OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGY FOR TRANSFERRING SPERM PRODUCING STEM CELLS BETWEEN BULLS THAT WILL ENDOW A SURROGATE RECIPIENT BULL WITH THE CAPACITY TO PRODUCE SPERM CONTAINING THE GENETICS OF AN ELITE DONOR. BECAUSE SPERM ARE THE CONDUIT FOR TRANSMISSION OF A MALE'S GENETICS AND MILLIONS ARE PRODUCED DAILY THIS TOOL WOULD ALLOW FOR DISSEMINATING DESIRABLE GENETIC INFORMATION INTO CATTLE POPULATIONS ON A WORLDWIDE SCALE. IMPORTANTLY, THE TOOL WOULD BE APPLICABLE IN A NATURAL BREEDING SCHEME AND CONDUCIVE TO ALL SYSTEMS OF CATTLE PRODUCTION.

Washington State University, Pullman WA

Investigators