NDRI fast-tracks cow breeding cycle with IVF calf from cloned Gir donor

In a landmark scientific achievement, the ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) has successfully shortened the traditional cattle breeding cycle by nearly 10 months, using a combination of cloning, ovum pick-up (OPU) and in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). For the first time in India, a Gir calf has been born via IVF from a cloned donor cow, demonstrating the powerful potential of integrating reproductive technologies to rapidly multiply elite indigenous breeds.

The Gir calf, born to a Sahiwal surrogate, marks the second generation from an elite donor cow within just 39 months, significantly reducing the conventional breeding interval of 46-50 months.

The donor, named Ganga, was India's first cloned Gir cow, developed through handmade cloning at NDRI and born on March 16, 2023. Ganga attained reproductive maturity by 18 months, at which point scientists retrieved oocytes from her using ultrasound-guided, non-surgical OPU. These oocytes were matured in vitro and fertilised with semen from a genetically superior Gir bull. The resulting embryo was implanted in the surrogate Sahiwal, resulting in the healthy Gir calf.

“This is a major scientific achievement in the field of animal biotechnology,” said Dr Dheer Singh, Director, ICAR-NDRI, calling it a breakthrough in indigenous cattle conservation. “It demonstrates the power of combining cloning and IVF to rapidly multiply superior indigenous cattle and conserve elite germplasm.”

The NDRI team behind this success includes Dr Naresh Selokar, Dr Manoj Kumar Singh, Dr Ranjeet Verma, Dr Kartikey Patel, Dr Priyanka Singh and Dr Nitin Tyagi.

Dr Singh stressed although India has the world’s largest female cattle population — over 145 million — milk productivity per animal remains low. “Technologies like OPU-IVF, especially when integrated with cloning, hold immense promise in overcoming this challenge,” he added.

He outlined multiple benefits of the combined technology: Faster multiplication of elite animals, non-invasive and repeatable oocyte collection, retrieval from young, infertile or early pregnant donors, higher embryo yield per donor and production of elite bulls to support artificial insemination (AI) programmes.

“By combining cloning with OPU-IVF, we can conserve valuable indigenous genetics, produce elite bulls and cows faster and ultimately ensure the prosperity of India’s dairy sector. This technology will be instrumental in conserving indigenous breeds that are on the verge of extinction,” Dr Singh emphasised.

Dr MS Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar — who was part of the team that produced India’s first cloned calf Garima in 2009 — welcomed the development. “Such technologies are essential to achieve a genetically strong and productive dairy herd that aligns with India’s vision of self-reliance in agriculture,” he said.

NDRI’s pioneering journey began with the creation of the world’s first cloned calf on February 6, 2009, though it survived only a few days. Undeterred, scientists produced Garima, a cloned female calf, on June 6, 2009, who survived for over two years. Her successor Garima-2, born August 22, 2010, went on to produce eight normal calves.