Bioscientifica Proceedings

Summary. During her lifetime, the ovarian environment of female domestic farm animals is subject to biochemical changes brought about by multiple factors, including husbandry practices, production demands and disease, which may ultimately impair oocyte quality and subsequent embryo development. The lactating dairy cow appears to be particularly challenged in this respect and many investigations have been carried out to characterize the underlying physiology and to identify biomarkers and indicators in readily accessible body fluids. The use of metabolomics-based techniques has identified biomarkers in follicular fluid and is being expanded for oocyte and embryo selection.

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