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SWITZERLAND - This week brown and two-tone calves whose sex was determined before insemination were presented to the public in Switzerland for the first time. This technology of sperm separation according to sex was developed by the American company XY Inc. The so-called sperm sexing is regarded as a revolutionary novelty in animal breeding. Experts point out, though, that at the present time this technology is not yet ready for general use.

Success rate of 90 percent
From a first field-test in Switzerland a total of twelve calves were born in October (eleven females, one male). Within this relatively small test this number presents a success rate concerning the preplanned sex of over 90 percent. According to Big X AG these are the first calves of their kind outside the USA and Great Britain, and the first brown and two-tone calves worldwide that were bred through artificial insemination with sorted cattle sperm.

For the sperm production the biotech company Big X AG has taken recourse to a procedure for sperm sex separation from the USA. Experts call this method flow cytometry. This means that sperm is optically marked and then sorted in a machine. The machine can differentiate between the bigger female and the smaller male sperm cells and separate them. This makes it possible for breeders to produce female or male calves as ordered. The sperm separation is done with fresh sperm which is then frozen. No gene manipulation takes place. The artificial insemination is done exactly as with normal KB [KB=AI, artificial insemination].

Peter Reichert, veterinarian and CEO of Big X AG declared that a phase of several years is planned for introducing sperm sexing into Switzerland. For this winter the use of about 5,000 to 6,000 dosages of separated sperm is planned. The first sperm dosages will be delivered to partner veterinarians in the near future. During the next season the biotech company wants to triple its turnover. Reichert calculates that in about five years every sixth sperm dosage in Switzerland will be sex separated. The company Big X AG is currently petitioning the respective federal agencies for licensing as an AI organization. The company wants to operate its own AI station in the canton Schwyz.

The market success of this new technology will depend largely on the price and on how successful the insemination is. According to Peter Reichert the conception rate (conception per insemination) for cattle is at 50 to 55 percent. The extra price per sperm dosage will probably be around 100 francs.

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Family planning in the cow shed
This week the first brown and two-tone calves were presented in Switzerland, the sex of which had been determined before insemination through sex-specific sperm separation. Experts are talking here about sperm sexing. This could fulfill an old animal breeder's dream. Which cattle breeder has not been wishing that a certain cow from among his cattle produced only female calves so that the first-class genetic material can be preserved? Or that a cow in a focused fertilization produced a male calf so that it could be used for AI (artificial insemination). It seems that sperm separation is taking animal breeding in these areas another step forward.

What is one to think of this new method? A positive aspect is that this method does not make use of gene manipulation. Apart from a big portion of expertise it also takes quite a bit of courage, something that Peter Reichert does not seem to be lacking. And so an instrument is available which could simplify animal breeding in the future. Of course the hopes connected with this can only be fulfilled if sperm sexing really keeps what its promoters are promising today. So far (too) many statements about the accuracy of predicting the sex, as well as about the rate of pregnancies, are based on a very small amount of numbers.

Whether sperm sexing has been introduced into the Swiss market too early will show pretty soon. The costs certainly need to be drastically lowered, and the insemination success rate needs to increase. That way sperm sexing could be economically of interest to Swiss breeders. Only when this technology offers a real advantage to individual Swiss breeders will they make use of it. And this is good, because the individual breeders are always the ones who carry the risk of new breeding methods.

Anton Haas

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"Sperm sexing revolutionizes animal breeding"
For the first time in Switzerland calves were born whose sex was determined before their birth. Interview with Peter Reichert, CEO of Big X AG.

SCHWYZ - Last Tuesday the company Big X presented the first brown and two-tone calves from sexed sperm to the public. For the first time female calves were born in Switzerland the sex of which was determined before insemination. This technology of sex separating sperm was developed by the research department of the USDA and the American company XY Inc. The Swiss biotechnology company Big X AG is the research collaborator in Switzerland. The "BauernZeitung" talked to Peter Reichert, CEO of Big X AG, about the new technology for determining the sex of calves.

BauernZeitung: According to your statements you presented this week the first brown and two-tone calves from sexed sperm worldwide. How is the animal breeder to imagine this?

PETER REICHERT: With sperm sexing the sperm is separated according to sex so that the breeder can use a sperm dosage that will predict the sex of the future calf with a certainty of 90%. The sperm separation is done with fresh sperm, which is then frozen. The sperm transfer is done just like with regular artificial insemination.

What advantages does this breeding technology offer to animal breeders in Switzerland?

REICHERT: Ever since humans have been breeding animals they have had the desire to breed offspring of a particular sex. This dream is now becoming reality. In Switzerland we have the second license for sperm sexing worldwide. We are also hoping to give the Swiss animal breeders an urgently needed impetus so that they can strengthen their position on the international genetic market again.

Critics say that sperm sexing is far too expensive for Swiss livestock breeding. How much extra expense do livestock breeders have to expect when they order a dosage of sexed sperm?

REICHERT: This question cannot be answered conclusively at this point of time. During the test phase we do not assess any extra costs. Later on we expect additional costs of less than 100 francs per dosage. With mass usage later on these additional costs can be lowered quite a bit once again. Our inquiries with dairy cow breeders have shown that they are willing to pay between 100 and 150 francs more for sex separated dosages of sperm than for normal sperm dosages.

A normal artificial insemination dosage of sperm in Switzerland contains about 18 million sperm cells. How many sperm cells per dosage does BIG X AG want to offer with its technology?

REICHERT: The number of 18 million sperm cells per dosage does probably not include imported sperm dosages. Imported dosages very often contain much less sperm. We intend to have 1.5 to 2 million sex separated sperm cells per dosage. However, this includes only the actually potent sperm cells that are better capable of fertilization. Dead, damaged, and weak sperm cells cannot be sexed and thus are sorted out. This number was tested with several thousand heifers. With cows that have already had calves the tests are still going on. The optimum number of sperm cells for cows that have already calved before still has to be found.

The Swiss Association for Artificial Insemination (SVKB) is publishing in its annual report a non-return rate of about 69 percent. Which non-return rate does BIG X AG expect with sperm sexing, and can these numbers be backed up?

REICHERT: Our calculations are not based on non-return rates, but on actual pregnancy rates. A non-return rate of 69 percent is the equivalent of a pregnancy rate of about 60 to 65 percent. BIG X AG reaches a pregnancy rate of 50 to 55 percent. This is about 10 percent lower than with conventional AI (artificial insemination) genetics with the same groups of cattle.

According to our information BIG X AG does not want to collaborate with any of the three existing AI organizations. Why?

REICHERT: Where did you get this information? It is our main goal to offer services in the area of biotechnology to the AI organizations and the breeders. BIG X AG was founded on March 18, 1999, and even on the day we founded the company we talked to the SVKB [Swiss association for artificial insemination]. We have offered our collaboration to all AI organizations. However, the conditions of the AI organizations were not acceptable to us. But the doors for collaboration are still open. Apparently it is harder for the AI organizations than for us to collaborate. With the genetics market a lot of money worldwide is involved, and sperm separation revolutionizes this market.

To be able to distribute sexed sperm the company BIG X AG needs a federal permission to operate as a private AI organization. Have you already submitted the necessary petition to the federal government? And when do you think you will be having your license from the federal agencies?

REICHERT: We are in the process of submitting a petition for being licensed as an AI organization with the appropriate authorities. The first steps have already been taken.

What kind of bulls does BIG X AG have to offer?

REICHERT: Currently BIG X AG possesses about 40 bulls. Among them are some younger animals, but also some older first class ones. We have first calves of the BS-bull Pepino who is descended from the world famous Christine family (USA), as well as from the RH-bulls Mars and Leo. With the Holsteins we can offer, among others, genetics of Brando.

To establish a fourth AI station in Switzerland, a substantial investment will be necessary. Does BIG X AG have enough capital for this, and who is the main shareholder who is behind this company financially?

REICHERT: We calculated an amount of a total of 5.8 million francs that will be needed for the first six years; three quarters of this amount we already have. The shareholders are primarily partner breeders and partner veterinarians. During the phase of establishing the company these partners have first priority as customers of BIG X AG.

Who is presented in the board of directors of BIG X AG?

REICHERT: The board of directors consists of the following persons: Josef Risi, Arth Goldau, Martin Stettler, Heimenschwand, Meenu Shastry, Meikirch, and I am the president.

What amount of sales do you expect in the limited Swiss genetics market?

REICHERT: For this winter we are planning to use 5,000 to 6,000 dosages of sexed sperm. These days we are distributing 1,000 dosages among our partner veterinarians. During the next season we want to triple sales. We calculate that in about five years every sixth sperm dosage will be sexed.

Interview Ruedi Hagmann and Anton Haas

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SPERM SEXING

Position of the AI (artificial insemination) association
Does sex sperm separation have a future in Switzerland? This question also keeps the Swiss association for artificial insemination (SVKB), which conducts far over 80 percent of all inseminations, preoccupied. Vice president Ulrich Witschi declared towards the "BauernZeitung" that three conditions need to be fulfilled before the SVKB will make use of this new technology: health of the animals, efficiency (profitability) for the breeder, as well as efficiency (profitability) for the inseminator. According to Witschi the so-called flow cytometry as a method of sperm separation isn't ready for general use yet, which means that it is still too early to introduce it into the general market. In particular the pregnancy rate has been tested only with heifer that have never calved before, but not with cows that have already given birth before. And besides, at the moment the pregnancy rate is still insufficient, compared to conventional artificial insemination. But the success of insemination is the key to the economical success of this method. In the area of developing sperm separation the SVKB collaborates with the Bavarian research center for reproductive biology (Bayrisches Forschungszentrum für Fortpflanzungsbiologie) in Munich.