Bioscientifica Proceedings

In males, including the ram, testosterone, acting via its primary metabolites oestradiol and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), suppresses circulating LH concentrations. This effect is due primarily, although not totally, to decreased frequency of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) pulses. The arcuate–ventromedial region (ARC–VMR) of the mediobasal hypothalamus and possibly the medial preoptic area (mPOA) are sites at which oestradiol acts to suppress GnRH, but the site ...

The phenomenon of embryonic diapause has been reported to possibly affect ovarian follicular development. The aim of the current study was to identify the impact of the embryonic diapause period on follicle number and oocyte quality in the European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). In this species, the embryo undergoes five months of developmental delay. We have determined the antral follicle count (AFC), oocyte morphological quality, oocyte meiotic resumption capacity ...

The physiological mechanisms controlling ovulation rate in mammals involve a complex exchange of endocrine signals between the pituitary gland and the ovary, and a localized exchange of intraovarian hormones between the oocyte and its adjacent somatic cells. The discoveries in sheep of mutations in bone morphogenetic protein 15 (BMP15) and bone morphogenetic protein receptor type IB (BMPR-IB) together with recent findings on the physiological effects of growth differentiation ...