Effects of Sperm Pretreatments and in Vitro Culture Systems on Development of in Vitro Fertilized Embryos Derived from Prepubertal Boer Goat Oocytes in China (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Goats are a prominent food source in many developing countries, including China. Goat inventories in China are estimated at over 1 x [10.sup.9] animals (Yonghong, 2002). The vast majority of such animals represent indigenous breeds. Boer goats were introduced into China in 1995 and offer advantages in terms of size, meat quality, disease resistance and other production traits relative to native indigenous breeds (Yonghong, 2002). Indigenous breeds are predominant in the rural, less developed agricultural areas in China where introduction of Boer goat genetics would have significant impact. However, practical and effective strategies for distribution of Boer goat genetics in China have not been widely implemented.