Biotecnologias da reprodução animal: de Aristóteles à edição gênica / Biotechnologies of animal reproduction: from Aristotle to gene editing

Atualmente, com a rapidez e a facilidade da difusão da informação, os jovens acadêmicos têm percepção de que o conhecimento é um produto pronto, onde as características podem ser manipuladas e empregadas como um objeto oriundo de uma fábrica. A compreensão da realidade que nos cerca é um desejo desde os primórdios da presença do homem sobre a terra e os conceitos se modificam na medida em que o conhecimento avança. As tecnologias reprodutivas surgiram e evoluíram ao longo dos tempos, levando a aplicações com diferentes impactos na produção e seleção animal, com repercussões na saúde animal, na saúde humana, na preservação de espécies em extinção e em diferentes cenários da atividade humana. Este texto traça uma linha de tempo das ações em reprodução animal, sob a ótica dos autores, dando ênfase ao gradual desenvolvimento das biotécnicas como ferramenta auxiliar na rotina experimental e nos diversos sistemas de produção animal.(AU)

Today the rapid and ease information diffusion makes young academics have a perception that knowledge is a ready product, where characteristics could be manipulated and used as an object from a factory. The understanding of the reality that surrounds us is a desire from the earliest days of man's presence on earth and the concepts change as knowledge advances. Reproductive technologies have emerged and evolved over time, leading to applications with different impacts on animal production and selection, with repercussions on animal and human health, on the preservation of endangered species and on different scenarios of human activity. This text summarizes the evolution of thought, knowledge and actions in animal reproduction from the perspective of the authors, emphasizing the gradual development of biotechnology as an auxiliary tool in the experimental routine and in the various systems of animal production.(AU)

Biotecnologias da reprodução animal: de Aristóteles à edição gênica / Biotechnologies of animal reproduction: from Aristotle to gene editing

Atualmente, com a rapidez e a facilidade da difusão da informação, os jovens acadêmicos têm percepção de que o conhecimento é um produto pronto, onde as características podem ser manipuladas e empregadas como um objeto oriundo de uma fábrica. A compreensão da realidade que nos cerca é um desejo desde os primórdios da presença do homem sobre a terra e os conceitos se modificam na medida em que o conhecimento avança. As tecnologias reprodutivas surgiram e evoluíram ao longo dos tempos, levando a aplicações com diferentes impactos na produção e seleção animal, com repercussões na saúde animal, na saúde humana, na preservação de espécies em extinção e em diferentes cenários da atividade humana. Este texto traça uma linha de tempo das ações em reprodução animal, sob a ótica dos autores, dando ênfase ao gradual desenvolvimento das biotécnicas como ferramenta auxiliar na rotina experimental e nos diversos sistemas de produção animal.

Today the rapid and ease information diffusion makes young academics have a perception that knowledge is a ready product, where characteristics could be manipulated and used as an object from a factory. The understanding of the reality that surrounds us is a desire from the earliest days of man's presence on earth and the concepts change as knowledge advances. Reproductive technologies have emerged and evolved over time, leading to applications with different impacts on animal production and selection, with repercussions on animal and human health, on the preservation of endangered species and on different scenarios of human activity. This text summarizes the evolution of thought, knowledge and actions in animal reproduction from the perspective of the authors, emphasizing the gradual development of biotechnology as an auxiliary tool in the experimental routine and in the various systems of animal production.

Follicle development and selection: past, present and future

This paper reviews progress that has been made over the last 50 years and discusses how the development and application of new technologies have been utilized to increase our understanding of the development and selection of the dominant follicle. Our increased knowledge from research carried out worldwide, has demonstrated that the development of the dominant follicle, and importantly the production of a good quality oocyte, are controlled by a set of complex and interactive extra- and intra-ovarian control systems, impacted by underlying genetic and external environmental factors, such as nutrition. In totality this has resulted in improvements in fertility, as demonstrated by the impact of diet on oocyte quality and increased pregnancy rates. However, given the increasing global challenges of food security, coupled with climate change, more in-depth understanding of these complex multifactorial control systems will have even greater significance in overcoming today's livestock production challenges, including some that were present over 50 years ago. In conclusion, the continuing development of new technologies, coupled with new knowledge and understanding of these complex control systems, should ensure that ruminant fertility is maximized, while ensuring good animal welfare within sustainable production systems.

Follicle development and selection: past, present and future

This paper reviews progress that has been made over the last 50 years and discusses how the development and application of new technologies have been utilized to increase our understanding of the development and selection of the dominant follicle. Our increased knowledge from research carried out worldwide, has demonstrated that the development of the dominant follicle, and importantly the production of a good quality oocyte, are controlled by a set of complex and interactive extra- and intra-ovarian control systems, impacted by underlying genetic and external environmental factors, such as nutrition. In totality this has resulted in improvements in fertility, as demonstrated by the impact of diet on oocyte quality and increased pregnancy rates. However, given the increasing global challenges of food security, coupled with climate change, more in-depth understanding of these complex multifactorial control systems will have even greater significance in overcoming today's livestock production challenges, including some that were present over 50 years ago. In conclusion, the continuing development of new technologies, coupled with new knowledge and understanding of these complex control systems, should ensure that ruminant fertility is maximized, while ensuring good animal welfare within sustainable production systems.(AU)