The freemartin genetic diagnosis results of Holstein herds from 2013 to 2020 in Taiwan
D. Y. Lin(1), S. J. Tzeng(2), J. C. Chen(1), Y. Y. Lai(1), C. J. Hsieh(1) and M. C. Wu(1)
(1)Livestock Research Institute, Council of Agriculture (2)Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology
The freemartin is a sterile female mammal with masculinized behavior and non-functional ovaries. Heifer of heterosexual twins usually suffer from incomplete genital development, resulting infertility after growth. The freemartin is a mosaic, and the karyotype of its cell sample is shown as XX/XY chromosome. From 2013 to 2020, fifty heifer blood samples of heterosexual twins from 23 dairy farms were detected for genetic diagnosis by genetic markers. The results showed that 18% (9/50) of heifers had normal XX type chromosomes, and 82% (41/50) of the heifers had abnormal XX/XY type chromosomes. Using the synchronizing estrus technology for reproductive regulation will increase the chance of heterosexual twins. Whether the heifers selected by dairy farmers are sterile freemartin is more and more important. Livestock Research Institute of COA provides a freemartin detection platform, which can detect whether a heifer is a freemartin. The application of the genetic diagnosis technology can reduce the cost of dairy cattle breeding and increase the retention rate of high-quality heifers.