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Beijing Inveis Network Information Technology Co.,Ltd

PCC has new technology for more carabao milk

The Philippine Carabao Cener in the Science City of Mu?oz, Nueva Ecija bared recently that it is hoping to make the country at least five percent less dependent on imported milk with the introduction of new technology on milking carabaos.

The PCC said that this will be done on superior-like female Bulgarian buffaloes thru a new technology -- the ultrasound-guided ovum pickup (OPU).

The OPU was bought by PCC from Honda Philippines thru a funding from the Department of Agriculture- Bureau of Agricultural Resources. The OPU costs P1.5 million.

OPU is done in combination with in-vitro embryo production technique. It is much like an ultrasound-facility used for humans, but has an intravaginal transducer fitted with a needle, to catch the eggs from inside the buffalo.

Edwin Atabay, one of PCC's senior research specialists, said the use of the OPU makes it easier for scientists to make sure that the desired traits are achieved, unlike in usual in-vitro fertilization methods where one cannot see the genetic make-up of the source where the eggs are taken.

A newborn female buffalo naturally produces at least 100 thousand eggs. Thru the new technology the scientists say no carabao's egg will be put to waste.
The OPU will help maximize the potential of the female carabao.

At present, the PCC is still at the in-vitro embryo production stage, meaning they have just started transferring produced embryos to the surrogate mother carabao.

It will take another 320 days before a baby carabao that can already produce more milk is born. If this succeeds, PCC said will help lessen the country's dependence on imported milk.

A carabao can already produce milk as early as the third or fourth year.

The OPU technology has been tested in the US, Japan and New Zealand. An Italian expert from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations trained PCC reserach specialists on the use of the OPU. Beijing Inveis
Biolife News Service