Embryo transfer is best described as which of the following?

• A. Mating
• B. Cloning
• C. Selective breeding
• D. Embryo transfer

Answer: (D)

Embryo transfer is a reproductive technique where an embryo is moved from a donor female to a recipient female to carry the pregnancy. This is different from mating, which is the natural or AI-based union of gametes to produce offspring. It’s also different from cloning, which would produce a genetic copy of a donor animal, and from selective breeding, which relies on mating chosen parents to pass traits to offspring over generations. By transferring embryos, the superior genetics of a donor can be propagated through recipient dams, speeding up genetic improvement without the donor needing to gestate. So, this description fits embryo transfer.