Progress 06/01/14 to 01/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences, for the period between the interrum report and final report, reached by our efforts for this reporting period include the following: 1. Attendees at the Joint Animal Science and Dairy Science Associations meeting (JAM, Orlando Florida) in July 2015. We were allowed space in DVM System's booth where we interacted with students, attendees (scientists,veternarians,non-scientists), and academic professionals in the animal science sphere. In addition, we had a peer reviewed poster-presentation at the meeting. 2. MPTI has interacted with dairy farmers, and ranchers(the secondary customer for their technology) via the Colorado Farm Show (Jan 2016) where MPTI presented it's technology during an "Innovations in Agriculture" session. 3. MPTI participated in the Colorado Bioscience Association 'Bioscience Day at the Capital' by having a display table, speaking with Senators and Representatives about thecompanie'stechnology. 4. At the National Western Stock Show (Jan 2016) MPTI meet with the Assistant to the Minister of Agriculture in Mexico and presented the scientific information, the overall business information as well as discussing the expansion of the technology into other species of interest to Mexico, goats and sheep. In addition, two members of the MPTI team acted as judges for the Colorado State Science Fair. This is the ~10th year that MPTI President, Lisa Herickhoff, has participated in the science fair and the second year for two of the MPTI Research Associates. While we don't directly discuss MPTI, this is an opportunity to support science, and scientific development in youth. Changes/Problems:The study as proposed was a heifer breeding trial. The study commenced using two young sires of unknown fertility as chosen by the dairy farm collaborator/owner. Sperm quality post-thaw was analyzed and appeared normal but unfortunately both of these young sires were apparently sub-fertile, resulting in pregnancy rates of <30% of the heifers (control sperm) in the first two breeding groups. As selection of different bulls was proceeding the dairy farmer passed away; this resulted in the dairy farm being in a state of disarray. At this juncture, approximately 3-4 months into the grant cycle MPTI decided to find a new location to conduct its breeding trials and apply for an extension of the grant. The second location chosen for collaboration did not have a large heifer group immediately available and so the decision was made to convert this to a lactating cow trial. As one reviewer correctly pointed out "heifers are very fertile and at standard conception rates for heifers, the effect of the additive may be obscured." Therefore, we considered the change to a lactating cow trial to be of substantial benefit. In order to minimize variation within lactating cows, the trial used only first service after return from the voluntary waiting period and veterinary clearance. As reviewers also correctly pointed out, one potential problem with the proposed design was the use of GnRH, breeding on time of estrus as well as estrus detection via observation of standing estrus. Therefore the decision was made to use only visual estrus detection. This fit well with the collaborating dairy farm system. Moreover, the decision was made to reduce the trial to two bulls from the original proposal of three bulls, to enable more statistical power per bull/treatment combination. It was proposed that inseminated animals would be ultrasounded at two time points approximately 30 days apart. Unfortunately, because of conflicts with normal operations at the dairy farm, ultrasound could be accommodated only at ~35d, with the exception of uncertainty in diagnosis (see Materials and Methods). These necessary adjustments, while representing a departure from the proposed study serve to strengthen the Phase I work and more thoroughly prepare for Phase II. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Duringthis grant period, several opportunities for training and development have transpired. MPTI has involved three undergraduate animal science majors in the breeding trial and/or sperm analysis. The opportunity to participate inresearch and development of a commercial product over the period of months or yearhas assisted students in moving toward a post-graduate (M.S.) opportunity, and successful career opportunities in animal science and biology. The students had opportunity to work one-on-one with MPTI's president, Dr. Lisa Herickhoff, with UNC professor Dr. Patrick Burns providing ample training. Professional development has occured for MPTI's M.S. level Research Associates. One Associate participated in flow cytometry training sessions tobetter understand MPTI's data analysis. Funds used for this training were not included in the USDA grant budget but were paid for outside the grant however the positive impact was within the grant scope. The grant P.I. also had the opportunity for professional career development (although also outside the grant budget) via participation in the Rocky Mountain Region How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The communities of interest for GameteGuardTM, MPTI's technology, include the Bovine Genetics Centers (Bull Studs), dairy farmers, cattle ranchers as well as other industries that utiilze artifician insemination. MPTI has madeconscientious efforts to share the data generated as a result of this grant project. Such sharing is an early form of marketing efforts and serve tokeep our technology in the forefront of the industry buyers.Data has been shared with the large bull studs including ABS Global, Genex, and SelectSires. Participating in Although dissemination of information to the secondary customer,farmers, is a greater challenge because of the sheer number of people, MPTI's efforts at the National Western Stock Show and Colorado Farm Show is the appropriate step at this stage and has served to create awareness. Such awareness will generate market pull for our technology. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
For full report including figures, please see pdf document submitted to Dr. Robert Smith, Program Director. SUMMARY Infertility is one of the most costly problems dairy and beef cattle farmers face, according to the USDA (Bellows et al., 2002). Aggregate national costs due to infertility, abortions/stillbirths, dystocia, retained placentas, and metritis/pyometra are > $1 billion annually, a cost >6X that of respiratory disease. As Bellows, et al (2002) state, inability of a cow or heifer to become pregnant may have the single greatest effect on reproductive costs and efficiencies accounting for >$300 million in national costs annually. Many factors affect fertility including parity (or lactation), number of artificial inseminations (AI), days postpartum, and milk production. Fertility of today's high-yielding dairy is ~23% (Norman et al. 2009). For reasonable efficiency and profitability, pregnancy rates in dairy cows should be 25-30% for a 21-day estrus cycle. Conservative estimates place the value of improvement of pregnancy rate at approximately $20/cow per 1 percentage point change. Placing this in perspective: increasing the pregnancy rate of a 1000 cow dairy from 16 to 21% (a 31% increase) could result in an economic gain of $100,000 annually for that operation (Overton, 2005). Membrane Protective Technologies, Inc's (MPTI) technology, GameteGuard™ offers a timely additive solution for low pregnancy rates after AI of heifers and especially lactating cows, as per the USDA's FY 2014 research priority 1. We recognize that subfertility is a multi-component problem and that GameteGuard™ addresses a portion of the solution and therefore for Phase I we performed an on-farm lactating cow breeding trial which leveraged commercial conditions to test the effectiveness of GameteGuard to improve pregnancy rates. Phase I project included two interlocked objectives: 1) assess sperm quality and 2) demonstrate an increase in pregnancy rates with GameteGuard™ treated versus control sperm. Assessing sperm quality immediately post thaw (0 hr) and after 3 hrs at 37C (3hr) demonstrated a 9% improvement in total motility, and 15% improvement in progressive motility at 0 hr, and 15 and 22% improvement at 3 hr, respectively. Membrane quality was improved by 10% at 0 hr and 19% at 3 hr., and acrosome intactness by 3% at 0 hr and 14% at 3 hr. Corresponding to the improvement in post-thaw sperm quality, in this Phase I breeding trial of 423 lactating cows, GameteGuard improved pregnancy rates 25% for first-service lactating cows bred based on visual signs of estrus (P<0.05). Success of the trial was pre-defined as a 7 percentage point increase in pregnancy rates with GameteGuard treated sperm. This trial demonstrated a 10 percentage point improvement, therefore also fulfilling the third objective. The profitable operation of a dairy herd is influenced by the reproductive performance of the lactating cows therefore this result takes on added significance over a breeding trail utilizing heifers. Beyond Phase I, but impacting Phase III, these data have enabled collaborations with a major boar stud, as well as initial work in embryos, which will accelerate the commercial application in these other species.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Herickhoff, L. Lindsey, A., Fritts, A. and P. Burns (2015) GameteGuard treatment improves post-thaw sperm
quality and pregnancy per insemination in dairy cows. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 93, Suppl. s3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 98, Suppl. 2
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
SSR publication
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Progress 06/01/14 to 05/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience: Annual Progress Report 05/11/2015 Title: GameteGuard: an approach to counteract fertility decline in dairy cattle Company: Membrane Protective Technologies, Inc. Project Director: Lisa Herickhoff Proposal Number: 2014-00531 Accession Number: 1002970 Start Date: 2014-06-01 End Date: 2016-01-31 GameteGuard, Membrane Protective Technologies' product, GameteGuard™ is blended with the semen extender prior to the addition of sperm thereby optimizing the protective effect throughout the cooling, freezing and thawing process as demonstrated by MPTI's rigorous studies. GameteGuard™ is a mixture of proprietary plant extracts and contains no animal-derived products. This latter feature helps in marketing elite genetics internationally. GameteGuard™ is a product that can be easily added to commercial semen extenders and may be an innovative way to improve profitability and sustainability in the livestock industries through increased pregnancy rates. This study was undertaken with the following objectives: Confirm the improvements in sperm quality and pregnancy rates achieved in the laboratory and the most recent pilot breeding trials in a robust and statistically valid population of breeding heifers. Demonstrate meaningful increase in pregnancy rate of GameteGuard™ treated sperm using low-dose insemination in first service breedings. Provide sufficient evidence to warrant phase II work including a lactating dairy cow breeding trial and development of commercial-scale quality control standards for GameteGuard™ raw materials and finished product. While the project was started in a timely fashion, after two heifer groups (approximately 60 animals bred) it became necessary to pause the program due to the death of the dairy farm owner, and subsequent confusion caused by his untimely passing. During this period, MPTI sought a second collaborating dairy, as it was uncertain when we could resume the breeding trial. One was located, and an agreement put in place, but the breeding could not be finished in time to meet the deadline of the grant. Therefore, MPTI applied for, and was granted, a no-cost extension. Because of the dairyman's herd composition and practices, MPTI had to change the scope of the study to focus on lactating cows rather than heifers. We inseminated >400 cows of various lactation, with 10x 106 sperm/dose. Cows were ultrasounded at day 32 post insemination to assess pregnancy status. Data are currently being analyzed. Preliminary data indicate a 6% improvement of GameteGuard™ treated sperm over control. This correlates with a 7.4% improvement in membrane quality, and a 2% improvement in acrosome intactness, both assessed immediately post-thaw. As expected, motility of control versus GameteGuard™ treated sperm was nearly identical. While the original study was a proposal of using heifers, the pregnancy rate of lactating cows is of much greater financial concern, and impact, to dairymen and therefore an improvement in pregnancy is of more important. It is for this reason that a change from heifers to lactating cows was justified. Objective II for this project included the development of a quality control program for raw materials and finished product. We have been able to perform preliminary work on this, defining detrimental contaminants in raw materials, and identifying a cost-effective method to assay for said contaminants. We have also started assays for raw material handling, as well as creating quality, uniform standard operating procedures for all procedures in our business. Financial update Fund expenditure is approximately as indicated in the grant budget as proposed. However, the travel budget was exceeded and therefore approximately $2000 in funds were shifted from supplies to travel. The extra expense was due to the need to process semen twice, once for the first study (later abandoned) and the second time for the study as indicated above. Changes/Problems: The primary problems occurred at the beginning of the project, whenthe collaboratingdairyman unexpectedly passed away. The ensuing confusion resulted in a need to stop the breeding trial and locate a new collaborating dairy. Such a dairy was located, but because of their management practices, MPTI had to change the project to use lactating cows rather than heifers. Because this dairy used different genetics, MPTI had to package more/different sperm (causing an increase in the travel budget). Viewed from the industry perspective, this change is positive as pregnancy of lactating cows is much more financially impactful than heifers, and therefore an increase in pregnancy per insemination will be of more value. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? During the period of this grant, significant training and professional development has occurred. We've hired three different undergraduate interns to help with this project. The first intern worked for MPTI for 2 years (junior and senior year of undergraduate) while she completed her bachelor degree in Agricultural Science/Animal Science. The second intern worked for us during the last semester of her senior year, and the last worked for the summer of 2014, during the start of the project. Interns participated in the breeding trials, learning about synchronization protocols,thawing and inseminating semen,the practical applications of breeding trials and refining their skills working with practicing dairymen. In addition, they learned about statistical data analysis, carried out independent projects that were ancillary to this grant project, and developed laboratory skills. . How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? In the Fall 2014 MPTI presented a section on Animal Reproduction to the Eaton High School Agriculture class. Through slides and visual aids, students learned about artificial insemination, and the animal reproduction industry in general, as well as some of the work performed by MPTI. One student, with an interest in insemination has helped with heat detection on various occassions. In addition, MPTI hostedStateSenator JohnKafalas and Represenative Jeni Arndt to learn more about our business, agriculture and the support offered by the State and Federal institutions. In November 2014, at the bequest of State Senator Kafalas, MPTI hosteda group of ~35State Senators and Representatives. During the 45 min presentation, the members learned about MPTI's work, the importance of State and Federal support to the success of small businesses and the import of agricultural innovation in our society. They toured our laboratory and asked many questions ranging from animal related, dairy related to technology development and patenting. In Feb 2015, MPTI inseminated and ultrasounded 25 heifers for HarvestFarm (https://www.harvestfarm.net/). Harvest Farm is a 209-acre farm and rehabilitation center for men, located in Wellington, Colorado. Because they did not have the necessary equipment and expertise for this type of work, we helped. This also helped provide a learning experience for some in our laboratory group who have not inseminated animals in some time. In April of 2015, MPTI principals testified to the State Representatives Committee on Agricultureregarding the importance of supporting agricultural development/business. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? From now to the end of the grant period, MPTI will continue to accumulate data on inseminated cows, then will statistically analyze said data. This data will be shared with dairymen, as well as the scientific community. Work will continue on the quality control project, and we will work on developing the appropriate projec for Phase II work.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
See previous document
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
We are pleased to inform you that the presentation for the abstract that you submitted (63171: GameteGuard treatment improves post-thaw sperm quality and pregnancy per insemination in dairy cows) has been scheduled for the 2015 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meeting.
Abstract #: W242
Format: Poster
Science Section: Physiology and Endocrinology
Session: Male reproduction, deers and poultry
Location: Gatlin Ballroom
Date/Time: Wednesday, July 15, 7:30 AM
Duration: 2:00
Presenting Author: Lisa Herickhoff
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