Today, the Sexing Technologies methodology is widely used in many animal species, with a wide variety of applications, from livestock production systems to population increases among endangered species. Conception rates are slightly lower than non-sorted semen, as the high-speed sorting process causes stress on the cells. However, this process is a giant step toward the pie-in-the-sky future technology I reported on as an FFA member many years ago.

In recent years, another company, one that is familiar to most cattle producers, American Breeders Service, or ABS Global, has developed an additional process to produce gender- specific offspring. This process, called SexcelTM Sexed Genetics, was first launched in Australia in early 2018. Similar to the Sexing Technologies process, the SexcelTM process differentiates the X- or Y-chromosome-bearing cells due to the slight difference in DNA in each type of cell.

The ABS process uses a nontoxic fluorescent DNA probe that adheres to the DNA of the chromosomes, and the cells can then be differentiated by the level of florescence to segregate the X or Y cells. Based on the type of chromosome, cells may be sorted into separate containers based on sex, or the cells of the undesired sex may be laser-ablated and remain in the solution.

Leaving the ablated cells in the same solution with the viable selected cells does not have any negative impact on fertility of the sex-skewed product. Field performance indicates that X-skewed sexed-semen inseminations produce 86 percent to 93 percent female calves with up to 90 percent relative conception rate to conventional semen. ABS reiterates that results vary according to management, environment and animal.

Excerpt from:
JACK'S INSIGHTS: Animal agriculture technology: pie-in-the-sky inventions - Scottsbluff Star Herald

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