Birth of first twin calves produced by intrafollicular transfer of immature oocyte

Abstract

In an adequate system of nutrition and management, the birth of twin calves can increase the productive efficiency in beef cattle. In this sense, genetic selection, hormonal treatment and the use of embryo transfer are strategies to produce twins in cattle. In the present report, we describe an alternative method for the production of twins based on the intrafollicular transfer of immature oocytes that resulted in the birth of the first twins reported using this technique. The expectation is to significantly improve the performance of the technique in the near future, making it another reproductive tool to be applied in the production and research sectors.