NDRI Karnal unlocks IVF future for Uttarakhand’s elite Badri cattle

NDRI director Dheer Singh said OPU-IVF could enable multiple embryos to be produced from genetically superior females, accelerating the multiplication of elite germplasm

In a step towards the conservation and genetic improvement of Uttarakhand’s indigenous Badri cattle breed, scientists at Karnal-based ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (ICAR-NDRI) have produced a healthy calf using the Ovum Pick-Up and In Vitro Fertilisation (OPU-IVF) technology.

The Badri female calf born through OPU-IVF technology on Friday, the result of three years of research and collaboration between scientists at NDRI, Karnal, and GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. (HT)

The achievement is the result of a collaboration between NDRI and GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, with financial support from the Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council, Haldi.

The Badri female calf was born at 3.10 am on Friday to a Sahiwal cow implanted with a Badri embryo at NDRI. Another cross-bred recipient cow is expected to deliver a Badri calf in the next five to seven days, the institute said.

Badri cattle are an indigenous cattle genetic resource of Uttarakhand and its state animal.

Explaining the significance of the accomplishment, NDRI director Dheer Singh said OPU-IVF could enable multiple embryos to be produced from genetically superior females, accelerating the multiplication of elite germplasm and supporting structured breed-improvement programmes compared with conventional breeding.

The research programme to establish reproductive technologies for Badri cattle was initiated in 2023 under the leadership of then GB Pant University vice-chancellor MS Chauhan.

Singh said over the past three years, scientists from NDRI and the university worked to establish OPU-IVF, embryo production and embryo transfer procedures for the breed.

“Oocytes (immature eggs) were collected from selected genetically valuable Badri donor cows using ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up. The oocytes were then matured and 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 before being transferred into synchronised recipient cows,” said Singh.

The programme is also exploring the cloning of elite, high-producing Badri cows. Singh said the collaborating team had successfully generated cloned Badri embryos through multiple stages of the ongoing work.

“In future, OPU-IVF- and cloning-derived embryos would be transferred into suitable Sahiwal, crossbred and Badri recipient cows to accelerate the multiplication of superior Badri germplasm and contribute to the long-term conservation and genetic improvement of the breed,” he added.

On Friday, GB Pant University vice-chancellor Shivendra Kumar Kashyap visited the Academic Dairy Farm and congratulated the team. He appreciated the collaborative efforts to conserve and improve indigenous animal genetic resources and said such research could contribute to livestock production, rural livelihoods and farmers’ incomes in Uttarakhand.

The research team included NDRI scientists Naresh L Selokar and MK Singh from the department of biotechnology, and GB Pant University scientists Dr Shiv Prasad, Dr Sunil Kumar and Dr Mridula Sharma from the department of veterinary gynaecology and obstetrics, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, besides Dr Sanjay Sharma, director, Uttarakhand Biotechnology Council, Haldi.