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Seven Piglets Born Using New Reproductive Technology
by Bryan Salvage on 9/7/00 for www.meatingplace.com
Charleston, S.C.-based Struthers Inc. and its subsidiary, Waukon, Iowa-based Elite
Visions Inc., specialists in animal reproductive biotechnology, announced that seven
healthy piglets were born from non-surgically implanted embryos using the company's
proprietary Gourley Scope technology.
The seven embryos (in different stages of development) were surgically removed from a
host sow utilizing the company's mobile operating trailer, “washed” virtually free of
pathogens and implanted into a non-anesthetized sow recipient at the company's
Spencer, Iowa, research farm facility, according to a news release.
The research team, led by Dr. Dennis Gourley, D.V.M., performed the non-surgical
implementation in a farm setting similar to what would be expected at any swine breeding
facility. Struthers’ scientific breakthrough is the world’s first porcine offspring to be born
using this technology. Although embryos are being removed surgically at present, work is
also being conducted to remove them non-surgically.
“By using the Gourley Scope, we have been able to perfect a technique where we can
remove the embryos from sows, wash them virtually free of pathogens and insert the
embryos, anywhere in the world,” Douglas Beatty, Struthers’ president and CEO, told The
Meatingplace.com. “The embryos can be kept alive up to six or seven days without
freezing [before implanting].”
The Gourley Scope was unveiled at the World Pork Expo 2000. The Scope, complete
with light source and transmitter, allows a technician and veterinarian to view in real-time
the animal’s reproductive tract of and implant the semen or embryos in the most effective
position for maximum conception.
Hog producers do not need a clean room to conduct the procedure.
“We do the procedure on the farm without anesthetizing the sow,” Beatty said, “and we
can implant the embryo in about one minute.”
Thus far, the conception rate has been “phenomenal,” Beatty said. For one sow, the
company achieved a seven out of seven embryo placement. A second sow received 18
implanted embryos, of which 14 took -- but all 14 fetuses were stillborn.
“These animals did grow to full term” he adds. “We had heartbeats up to the day of
delivery. We feel they aborted due to a lack of oxygen. The mom may have been pushing
to hard. If a vet was there while she was in contraction, we probably would have delivered
them by c-section. It was sad.”
But the good news is -- between the two sows, the company got an 85 percent
conception rate. The company believes that this non-surgical embryo implementation
process will be significantly more effective than using surgical techniques -- and that it
has worldwide commercial application.
Another promising point about this technology is it offers producers the opportunity to
change the genetics of their herds in one generation as compared to the industry
standard of taking seven to eight years to change porcine genetics.
“If a packer said we want to be able to change the genetics so we’re throwing off good
size loins and hams, we can do that in one generation,” Beatty said. “Rather than them
having to mix and match semen and trying to get the best genetic cross to do this.”
Another interesting point is that the embryo carries the genetic material and the sow
recipient does not.
“You can take a scrub sow [a sow that would not be sent to a packer] and place the
embryos in that sow,” Beatty said. “She’ll give birth to good, healthy animals, and you’ve
changed the genetic line immediately.”
Another plus of this process is that embryos can be removed from a host sow before she
is killed so the farmer doesn’t lose his genetics.
“If a kill order comes in from USDA, we can take those embyros from the sow, save them
or move them to isolated pigs, and save the genetics of that herd for the farmer,” Beatty
said. “So the farmer never loses his genetics and doesn’t have to start over again. We
call that herd recovery.”
The end result of the process? Cookie-cutter hogs, Beatty said.
“If you look at our stats for our animals going to the packer, every one is the same,” he
said. “You know the genetics you’re transferring. And you know the time it takes for the
animal to develop. Feed costs are down because a healthy animal is being grown -- it’s
not fighting diseases so its putting on weight and growing healthy.”
Thanks to this new process, the time going to market is also less.
“We’re actually shaving off from 20 to 30 days of our animals going to market using this
procedure,” Beatty adds.
At present, the process is commercially available -- but on a small scale. Beatty told The
Meatingplace.comthat more units will be entering the market in about 30 days.
Further ongoing product development of non-surgical embryo transfers is also currently
being performed by the company on sheep, deer and cattle.
“Sheep is the second-largest consumed meat in the world, and deer is coming up very
quickly and we’re getting tremendous results with deer,” Beatty said.
Additional applications of the Gourley Scope also involve lowering the dose of semen
needed for maximum conception in artificial insemination, the company reports.
Struthers Inc. also sells its own line of pork nationally under the Tender Prime label.
“It’s an all-natural pork,” Beatty said. “We use no steroids or growth promotants in the
animals.”
For further information on the company, log onto StruthersInc.com.
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