Genetics Australia, the country’s largest artificial breeding supplier for Australian dairy farmers, is working with ART Lab Solutions, a South Australian start-up that specialises in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for the cattle industry to make their breeding programmes more efficient. 

ARTLab provides a media solution that grows embryos from cow eggs and semen in their laboratory, in a process very similar to human in vitro fertilisation (IVF). 

CEO and Director of ART Lab Solutions, Marie Ellul, who is an InDaily 40 Under 40 alumni, has an embryology background and was drawn to the industry by science. 

“I’ve grown to love the agriculture side and the introducing innovation into agriculture,” she said. 

Ellul said the process can be done with sheep, equine and pigs, but their primary focus is cattle. ARTLab’s users, such as Genetics Australia, pick superior donor cows with the best genetics to collect eggs from.

“When I say the best genetics, it’s usually they’ve got desired traits that the breeder or the producer wants for their herd,” she said. 

“So in a dairy cow, you might select a donor that makes lots of milk, high volumes of milk, you want her genetics compared to a cow that’s only producing an average amount of milk. 

“Then for the beef industry, you want the cow that has lots of muscle, and is heavier so that you can sell more meat per kilo.” 

The team at Genetics Australia and ARTLab (L–R) Ezequiel Boretto, Marie Ellul, Tineke Jehu. Photo: supplied.

Genetics Australia’s Centre Veterinarian, Ezequiel Boretto, said they’ve observed immediate positive changes from using ART Lab’s cattle IVF media to grow cow eggs in the laboratory. 

“The support they give us is phenomenal,” Boretto said. 

Genetics Australia has expanded what it can offer to cow breeders and farmers as the technology allows them to produce IVF embryos from juvenile, pre-pubertal animals and even pregnant donors.

“We have had progeny from cows that would not conceive by artificial insemination or natural mating, and the only way to keep their genetics alive was through IVF,” Boretto said, adding that the reproductive technology is simple to use and the feedback  has been overwhelmingly positive, as farmers appreciate the ability to expand cow genetics safely and efficiently.  

“We feel very happy with ART Lab Solutions and hope to continue working with them in the future,” he said. 

Pictured here are Blastocysts of Day 7 cattle in vitro-produced embryos. Photo: supplied

ART Lab Solutions introduced its first product range at the International Embryo Technology Society meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2018. 

Their formulas for cattle IVF processes are based on intellectual property developed at the University of Adelaide, where they are a part of ThincLab, the university’s entrepreneurial hub. They continue to innovate in the livestock genetic space.