Bioscientifica Proceedings

Fertilization is a decisive moment in life and enables the combination of the DNA from two gametes to ultimately form a new organism. The sperm surface, especially the head area, has distinguishable subdomains that are involved in distinct fertilization processes. It is known that the sperm head surface undergoes constant remodelling during epididymal maturation and migration in the male and female genital tract. But intriguingly, the identity, origin and spatial orderin...

In order to achieve fertilization sperm cells, first need to successfully interact with the zona pellucida. To this end, the sperm surface is extensively remodeled during capacitation and the resulting sperm cells also possess hyperactivated motility. Together, this serves to mediate optimal recognition of the zona pellucida in the oviduct or after in vitro fertilization incubations (primary zona pellucida binding). When the sperm cell attaches to the zona pellucida, it will b...

Buffalo are of high economic importance for farmers in several developing countries but reproductive performance is poor. A large proportion of heifers attain puberty at 3–5 years of age. A good quality diet supplemented with extra nutrients reduces the age of puberty whereas the effects of administration of exogenous GnRH or equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) are equivocal. The incidence of anoestrus in buffalo ranges from 20 to 80% depending on season. Most buffal...

In the current review the main fundamental biological differences in reproductive function between Bos taurus and Bos indicus cattle are discussed. Breed differences regarding puberty, estrous cycle patterns, estrous behavior, acquisition of ovulatory capacity, ovarian structures and reproductive hormones are presented. The main physiological differences that Bos indicus cattle present relative to Bos taurus cattle include: delayed age at pu...

The adaptation of Bos indicus cattle to tropical and subtropical environments has led to their widespread distribution around the world. Although artificial insemination (AI) is one of the best alternatives to introduce new genetics into Bos indicus herds, the peculiarity of their temperament and the tendency to show short oestrus (many of them during the night) greatly affects the effectiveness of genetic improvement programs. Therefore, the most useful alte...

This chapter describes the application of functional genomic approaches to the study of imprinted genes in swine. While there are varied definitions of "functional genomics", in general they focus on the application of DNA microarrays, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, and other high coverage genomic analyses, and their combination with downstream methods of gene modification such as silencing RNA (siRNA) and viral and non-viral transfection. Between the initi...

Unlike in sheep, in which immunization against androstenedione causes mild and reasonably controlled increased ovulation rate, in similar studies cattle showed highly variable responses ranging from increased ovulation rate and fertility through to anovulation/anoestrus or superovulation. As a consequence, interest in manipulation of ovulation rate through this approach has declined and is now focused on immunological manipulation of endogenous inhibin following successful stu...

Abstract unavailable© 2009 Society for Reproduction and Fertility...

Abstract unavailableKeywords: inhibin; activin; follistatin. αN peptide; ovary; follicle; corpus luteum© 1991 Journals of Reproduction & Fertility Ltd...