Iranian Researcher Uses Nanotechnology to Improve Fertility in Sheep
“In order to preserve native livestock and prevent the extinction of these valuable genetic resources, it is necessary to dedicate a part to our research in the field of applying the best methods of preserving and transferring these genes to future generations. In the meantime, sperm preservation methods should improve to attain this goal,” said Mahdiyeh Mehdipour, the manager of the project.
She added that fertilization of a large number of ewes by using sperm of superior breed rams, reducing the costs of maintaining rams, creating gene pools, easy transfer of semen from production centers to the most distant places, ensuring the survival of unique rams and preventing the extinction of superior breeds are the basic applications of the rams' sperm freezing process, noting, “In this project, we used nanotechnology which ensures that the desired substance enters the sperm optimally and slowly, and as a result, the stress caused by the sudden entry of the substance into the environment and finally sperm shock is avoided. On the other hand, in this research, rosiglitazone is used to preserve sperm in a refrigerated form, which has shown very strong protective effects in protection of sperm in various researches.”
“This project helps to achieve appropriate technologies to improve reproduction efficiency and the use of candidate genes effective on performance in sheep, goats, and native cattle of Iran,” Mehdipour said.
In a relevant development earlier this year, an Iranian knowledge-based company stationed at Isfahan Science and Research Town produced yeast as a food supplement for livestock and poultry, which has also been introduced to the European Union.
“The yeast extract under the brand of Talizan is one of the knowledge-based products of our company which is based on the international COC standard certificate of Europe and the US,” said Keyvan Beheshti Ma’al, the managing-director of the knowledge-based company.
Noting that the product is used for livestock, poultry and aquatic feed, he stated, “Considering that the yeast is prepared from the yeast cell of saccharomyces cerevisiae, as the bread yeast, it has protein compounds and is full of B, D and E vitamins and other various elements which are needed in animals.”
Beheshti Ma’al underlined that the most important effect of this yeast in livestock diet is to improve the immune system of livestock and poultry, and added, “This product is used as a food supplement because 50% of this yeast is protein.”
He pointed to commercialization of the knowledge-based product, and said, “The company was selected by the UN and the yeast was introduced to the European Union in Germany last month.”
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