Foal's birth marks reproduction breakthrough

The foal was born on January 27 at the Minitube International Centre for Biotechnology in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

The company said the work represented a scientific breakthrough that will allow for genetic testing and preservation of equine embryos.

Both the mother, Lola, and the foal, named Biopsita, are doing well.

The company says the breakthrough marks a new era in horse breeding, providing horse breeders with a chance to directly test embryos for genetic traits including gender, coat colour, genetic diseases, and so on, and selecting desirable genetics from stallion and mare combinations.

The full study will be presented at the 10th International Symposium on Equine Reproduction being held in Kentucky this July.

Vitrification is a preservation process involving cooling of tissues but without the formation of cell-damaging ice formation.

Mats Troedsson, the director of the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky and director of equine research for Minitube International, said embryo transfer and cryopreservation have been steadily gaining traction in equine reproduction as the technology further develops and the equestrian community adjusts registry requirements.

"But the ability to genetically screen an equine embryo before transfer would change horse breeding as we know it today. The economics would just make sense."

To make genetic screening of an equine embryo practical, the embryo needs to be biopsied, vitrified and later transferred into a recipient.

Dr John Dobrinsky, executive director of the Minitube International Center for Biotechnology, said: "My scientific team in the lab and the farm staff are one of the best in the world.

"Seeing that foal walking around the stall is a strong reminder of the scientific advancements that can be made when you combine a stellar team with a strong support environment."

Minitube International is a biotechnology company specialising in advanced reproduction technologies and cell biology.