Clinical relevance of biotechnological advances

Biotechnology offers new strategies to improve the treatment of male and female infertility and to preserve biodiversity. In carnivores, the improvement of reproductive performance in breeding animals of high genetic merit and the preservation of rare wild species in danger of extinction are areas in which recent advances have been made. In vitro systems of sperm–oocyte interaction have been developed in feline and canine reproductive biotechnology. Using in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in conjunction with embryo transfer (ET), it is possible to produce offspring from animals that could not have conceived otherwise, as well as increasing reproductive rates from certain individuals. Recent successes in cloning make it possible to produce embryos without sperm–oocyte interaction by using the transfer of a somatic nucleus into a female germ cell. In vitro sperm–oocyte interaction can also be used to assess the fertility of male gametes. Zona binding assays and penetration tests can evaluate the functional integrity of spermatozoa and contribute to improved diagnosis in cases of male infertility.