Bioscientifica Proceedings

In boars, the primary determinant of daily sperm production is the number of Sertoli cells, which establishes testicular weight. The only breed comparison of foetal testicular development in boars contrasted two diverse breeds, White composite (WC, Landrace-Yorkshire) with Meishan, a Chinese breed that undergoes pubertal development at a young age and has small testicular size. During the prenatal period, the pattern of change in testicular development is similar in thes...

The resting pool of primordial follicles in mammalian ovaries is a potential resource for the genetic manipulation of domestic animals, the preservation of endangered species, and the amelioration of some forms of infertility in humans. Exploitation of this large reservoir of follicles depends on the development of methods for activating primordial follicles to begin growth in vitro and of methods for sustaining follicular growth to the stage at which oocytes are capa...

Onset of puberty (sperm production) occurs at a much younger age (56-84 days) in Meishans than in conventional boars (120-180 days). Throughout postnatal development, Meishans exhibit markedly higher (two- to ten-fold) concentrations of serurn FSH, LH and androgens compared with conventional boars, and these high hormone concentrations are maintained at maturity. Increased gonadotrophin concentrations occur only in Meishan males, since concentrations in female Meishans a...