{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,10]],"date-time":"2026-10-10T04:28:05Z","timestamp":1791606485496,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":14,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]],"date-time":"2020-10-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1601856000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100012764","name":"William H. Donner Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100012764","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"JoGayle Dillon Howard Revocable Trust","award":["N\/A"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["N\/A"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Approximately 30% of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums cheetah population (~350 total animals) is unlikely to breed naturally due to advanced age, health, or behavioral issues. Aging cheetah females (\u22659 y old) are unlikely to become pregnant via natural breeding if they are nulliparous. We previously demonstrated that oocytes recovered from aged females were of similar quality compared with those recovered from younger females (2\u20138 y old). We hypothesize that transfer of 4\u20138 cell embryos produced by in vitro fertilization with oocytes from old donors could result in pregnancy after transfer into younger recipients. Female cheetahs (n = 3 aging donors and n = 3 young recipients) received 300 IU equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG) and 3000 IU Luteinizing Hormone (LH) while fecal metabolites of estrogens and progestogens were closely monitored. At 28 h post-LH injection, oocytes were aspirated laparoscopically from donors and inseminated in vitro with cryopreserved sperm. After 48 h of in vitro culture, resulting embryos (4\u20138 cells) were transferred into the oviducts of recipient females. Pregnancy was confirmed in one recipient via ultrasound 32 days after transfer and by radiograph 62 days after transfer. Two cubs were born naturally after 90 days of gestation, representing the first cheetah births resulting from transfer of embryos produced in vitro.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10101811","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]],"date-time":"2020-10-05T08:35:57Z","timestamp":1601886957000},"page":"1811","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":29,"title":["First Birth of Cheetah Cubs from In Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Adrienne E.","family":"Crosier","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julie","family":"Lamy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Priya","family":"Bapodra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Powell, OH 43065, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suzi","family":"Rapp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Powell, OH 43065, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Morgan","family":"Maly","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA"},{"name":"Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Randy","family":"Junge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Powell, OH 43065, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Holly","family":"Haefele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose, TX 76043, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jason","family":"Ahistus","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Glen Rose, TX 76043, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jenny","family":"Santiestevan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pierre","family":"Comizzoli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20008, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Crosier, A.E., Meeks, K., Moloney, E., and Andrews, J. (2020). Population Analysis and Breeding and Transfer Plan. Cheetah Species Survival Plan, Population Management Center, Lincoln Park Zoo."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"528","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1611122114","article-title":"The global decline of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and what it means for conservation","volume":"114","author":"Durant","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1095\/biolreprod.110.089417","article-title":"Increasing age influences uterine integrity, but not ovarian function or oocyte quality, in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)","volume":"85","author":"Crosier","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"370","DOI":"10.1071\/RD06057","article-title":"Ejaculate traits in the Namibian cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus): Influence of age, season and captivity","volume":"19","author":"Crosier","year":"2007","journal-title":"Reprod. Fertil. Dev."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cryobiol.2005.10.011","article-title":"Cryopreservation of spermatozoa from wild-born Namibian cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and influence of glycerol on cryosurvival","volume":"52","author":"Crosier","year":"2006","journal-title":"Cryobiology"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1486","DOI":"10.1071\/RD16007","article-title":"Circumventing the natural, frequent oestrogen waves of the female cheetah using oral progestin (Altrenogest)","volume":"29","author":"Crosier","year":"2017","journal-title":"Reprod. Fertil. Dev."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Maly, M.A., Gooley, R.M., McInerney, N.R., Maldonado, J.E., Koepfli, K.-P., Johnson, W., Wildt, D.E., Tamazian, G., Dobrynin, P., and Crosier, A.E. (2021). Integrating novel microsatellite-based kinship estimates with current pedigree kinship estimates to improve the genetic management of the captive cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Animal Conserv., in preparation."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1099","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-294X.2007.03089.x","article-title":"Revising how the computer program CERVUS accommodates genotyping error increases success in paternity assignment","volume":"16","author":"Kalinowski","year":"2007","journal-title":"Mol. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1016\/j.theriogenology.2006.03.024","article-title":"Application of assisted reproduction for population management in felids: The potential and reality for conservation of small cats","volume":"66","author":"Swanson","year":"2006","journal-title":"Theriogenology"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"733","DOI":"10.1095\/biolreprod43.5.733","article-title":"In vitro fertilization and embryo development in vitro and in vivo in the tiger (Panthera tigris)","volume":"43","author":"Donoghue","year":"1990","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1530\/jrf.0.1060337","article-title":"Reproductive activity in captive female cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) assessed by faecal steroids","volume":"106","author":"Brown","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Reprod. Fertil."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0188575","article-title":"Non-invasive identification of protein biomarkers for early pregnancy diagnosis in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)","volume":"12","author":"Koester","year":"2017","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0225354","article-title":"Immunoglobulin J chain as a non-invasive indicator of pregnancy in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)","volume":"15","author":"Byron","year":"2020","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Ware, L.H., Crosier, A.E., Braun, L., Lang, K., Joyner, P., Lockhart, S., and Aitken-Palmer, C. (, January June). Use of a novel radiographic technique for pregnancy determination and fetal count in cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus). Proceedings of the Felid Taxon Advisory Group Annual Meeting, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA, USA."}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/10\/10\/1811\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T10:16:39Z","timestamp":1760177799000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/10\/10\/1811"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]},"references-count":14,"journal-issue":{"issue":"10","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,10]]}},"alternative-id":["ani10101811"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani10101811","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,10,5]]}}}