Overview of sexing sperm

Hundreds of thousands of off springs have been born as a result of AI with sexed sperm. Although this technology has been used for many species, the overwhelming majority of pregnancies have been in cattle, nearly all as a result of sperm that were sexed and subsequently frozen. The technology for sexing sperm has not changed greatly in the past 7 years, but refinements have speeded up the process and reduced damage to sperm. The process of commercialization of sexed sperm has accelerated recently. However, this technology is characterized by high costs, complexity of implementation and lower pregnancy rates than with control sperm. Nevertheless, sexed, frozen bovine sperm are being produced commercially in many countries, although from a limited number of bulls. The main application of sexed sperm to date has been to breed dairy heifers to produce female calves. Because of the slow speed of sexing sperm, fewer sperm are used per insemination dose of sexed than conventional sperm, and pregnancy rates with this product are often only slightly decreased. Successful use of sexed sperm requires excellent management of cattle, careful handling of sperm and use of skilled inseminators. As costs decline, sexed sperm will be used increasingly for cattle breeding, horse breeding and niche applications in other species.