In consideration of the typically low efficiency of MOET programs in
buffaloes, in the past two decades there has been a mushrooming interest in the
exploitation of in vitro embryo production procedures (IVEP), employed for a more
rapid and targeted improvement and propagation of superior genetics from elite
animals. Procedures that had been used in cattle successfully, were also used in the
very first attempts in buffaloes, although a significant improvement in the efficiency of
the entire process in the buffalo species has been achieved in the course of the
intervening years through novel information on oocyte and embryo culture
requirements. This review aims at describing the state of the art of IVEP in the buffalo
species, the results and improvements obtained together with the difficulties and
limitations still to be overcome.
Keywords: Buffalo, Cryopreservation, In vitro produced embryos, Sperm sexing
