Efficacy of a single blood anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration measurement for the selection of Japanese Black heifer embryo donors in herd breeding programs.

We evaluated the relationship between plasma anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentrations in Japanese Black (JB) heifers at 7-10 months of age and the number of embryos recovered after superovulation treatment in selected ovum pick-up donors, concomitantly with changes in their AMH concentrations before and after parturition. Plasma AMH concentrations in heifers were positively correlated with the total number of follicles (r = 0.647, P < 0.01) and embryos (r = 0.681, P < 0.01) recovered from the animals postpartum, when selected as donor cows, but did not correlate with the total number of transferable embryos. No difference was observed between the plasma AMH concentration at the heifer period and the postpartum period. Additionally, serum AMH concentrations of heifers weakly correlated with the number of follicles and embryos recovered by virgin flush after superovulation treatment at 13-15 months of age. Therefore, a single blood AMH concentration measurement may accelerate intensive JB cattle breeding.