Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2024, Vol. 55 ›› Issue (2): 427-437.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2024.02.002

• REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research Progress on TLR7 and TLR8 in Livestock Reproductive Control Technology

WANG Nana, LI Qihan, MA Yuan, JIN Haoyan, HU Yamei, MA Yun, ZHANG Lingkai*   

  1. Key Laboratory of Ruminant Molecular and Cellular Breeding of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, College of Animal Science and Technology, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
  • Received:2023-07-04 Online:2024-02-23 Published:2024-02-27

Abstract: The utilization of sex control technology in mammals plays a crucial role in the field of livestock production. By employing this technology in practical livestock farming, individuals can successfully obtain offspring of the preferred gender, consequently optimizing the lactation, reproduction, and production performance of the livestock. At present, traditional mammalian sex control techniques mainly fall into two categories: X and Y sperm separation before fertilization and early embryonic gender identification after fertilization. However, these methods have limitations including prolonged duration, limited efficiency, compromised sperm viability, and arrest of embryonic development. Consequently, these techniques need to be enhanced and refined. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the main pre-fertilization sex control methodologies used in mammals, highlighting their characteristics and current challenges. Furthermore, the novel approach of utilizing activated Toll-like receptor 7/8 to segregate X and Y sperm has garnered considerable interest. In contrast to conventional methods, this methodology obviates the need for exogenous pharmaceuticals and offers advantages such as heightened efficacy, expeditiousness, and the absence of deleterious toxicities. Despite the demonstrated success of this technology in controlling the sex of animals such as mice, sheep and cattle, there are still some problems that need to be further solved in large-scale applications. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the research progress achieved in this field, assesses the feasibility of application in production settings, and prospects the future development trend of the technology.

Key words: mammals, sex determination, sperm separation, TLR7, TLR8

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