Ovarian dynamics and milk progesterone concentrations in cycling and non-cycling buffalo-cows (Bubalus bubalis) during Ovsynch program

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.03.011

Theriogenology

Volume 68, Issue 1, 1 July 2007, Pages 23-28

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2007.03.011 Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective was to evaluate ovarian dynamics and progesterone concentrations in cyclic (CYC, n = 10) and non-cyclic (NCY, n = 8) buffalo-cows during Ovsynch program. All cows received GnRH on day 0, PGF₂α on day 7, and GnRH on day 9, and AI 14 h later. Ovarian structures were monitored by ultrasound and milk samples were collected for progesterone (P₄) analysis. The first GnRH resulted in ovulation in CYC (90%) and NCY (62.5%) cows. By day 7, almost all cows had large follicle and lutein tissue. Luteolytic responses to PGF₂α were 80 and 87.5% for CYC and NCY cows, respectively. Following second GnRH, ovulation occurred in 80% of CYC and 100% of NCY cows. Ovulation began earlier (12 h following second GnRH) and extended for longer (36 h) in NCY cows, when compared to CYC cows (36 and 12 h, respectively). The mean P₄ levels increased from days 0 through 7 in CYC and NCY cows and levels were higher in CYC group. Conception rates were 60 and 37.5% in CYC and NYC cows, respectively. Early and asynchronous ovulation and luteal sub-function seemed to be a problem in NCY cows. Inseminating NCY cows twice, at 0 and 24 h of the second GnRH is recommended.

Introduction

Problems related to estrus detection constitute major constraints to increasing reproductive rates in the water buffalo [1], [2], [3]. This consideration indicated a need for estrus synchronization using fixed-time insemination for implementation of breeding programs in buffaloes. To date, the most common synchronization schemes in buffaloes are limited either to premature regression of the corpus luteum (CL) by injection of PGF₂α or its synthetics analogues [4], [5], [6], or by prolonging the life-span of the CL by progesterone or progestagen preparations [6], [7], [8], [9]. The difficulty with these approaches is the variability in time from AI to ovulation and the low conception rate (CR).

The Ovsynch program, developed in cattle [10], has been recently practiced in nulliparous and multiparous [11], lactating and nonlactating [12], and cyclic and non-cyclic [13] buffaloes. The CR of this program is still, however, extremely low in the non-cyclic buffaloes [13]. The reduced CR may be attributed to a true deep acyclic condition that is characterized by an absent or strongly reduced follicle turnover. Therefore, attainment of an adequate size of a dominant follicle required for responsiveness to GnRH may not be reached. Another explanation is that animals may be unresponsive to prostaglandin administration due to insufficient or absent luteal tissue. Characterization of the ovarian changes occurring through the different steps of this program in buffaloes, especially in the non-cyclic ones, has not been reported.

The aim of the present study was to use ultrasound and hormonal analysis to evaluate ovarian dynamics and milk progesterone concentrations in cycling and non-cycling buffalo-cows during the different steps of the Ovsynch program.

Section snippets

Animals and management

Twenty-five Egyptian river buffalo-cows (Bubalus bubalis), between the age of 4.8 and 7.3 years old, weighing 528–639 kg and 96–118 days post-partum were included in this study. The study group gave normal parturition and had no history of reproductive disorders. The animals were housed in an open yard in the animal farm of Al-Azhar University, Assiut-Campus. They were milked twice daily, and fed on 40% forage dry matter (Egyptian clover) and 60% concentrate mixture. Wheat straw was also fed at

Ovarian response to the first GnRH

Ovarian response of the CYC and NCY buffalo-cows to the Ovsynch program is summarized in (Table 1). Proportions of cows that ovulated to first GnRH treatment were 90 and 62.5% for CYC and NCY groups, respectively (P = 0.1). Follicle luteinization (37.5%) was only detected in the NCY group (P = 0.04). A new follicular wave was recruited in all cows; and a new dominant follicle developed in most of them.

Ovarian structures on day 7

By day 7 (PGF₂α treatment), a follicle larger than 8 mm in diameter (DF2) was detected in 90% of

Discussion

The current study describes the differences between the CYC and NCY buffalo-cows in response to different steps of the Ovsynch program. In this program, each buffalo-cow received three injections for each breeding. The first GnRH was designed first to ovulate large functional follicle and to induce a new follicular wave [18]. The second rationale was to increase the percentage of animals synchronized to a single injection of PGF₂α. The study showed that, both treatment groups responded

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr. M. Abdel-Raouf, Professor Emeritus, for his guidance, encouragement and help with the manuscript.

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The present study aimed to investigate the seasonal calving pattern of the swamp buffaloes and to test various estrus synchronization protocols and breeding treatments to improve the reproductive efficiency of the anestrous female buffaloes. In Study 1, we first investigated the breeding records of female buffaloes in the Phayao Animal Breeding and Research Center (PABRC) from year 2004 to 2013, aiming to compare the calving rates in three different breeding seasons, i.e. winter season (Oct. – Jan., Group 1), rainy season (Jun. – Sep., Group 2), and summer season (Feb. – Apr., Group 3). We found that the best average calving rate was observed in the winter season (74%) compared to other seasons (11-15%). Therefore, all the protocols tested in Study 2 were only compared during the winter season. In Study 2, different synchronization protocols were compared based on the resulting conception rates and the cost of estrus induction for postpartum anestrous buffaloes under field conditions during the winter season. Sixty buffalo cows were allocated to the following treatment groups by completely randomized design. The estrous cycle of buffalo cows was synchronized by Norgestomet ear implant (Norgestomet, n=30, T1), controlled internal drug release (CIDR, n=30, T2), or ovulation synchronization (Ovsynch, n=30, T3) protocols. Results from Study 1 showed that, in the winter season, buffalo cows had the highest birth rate (74.1%, 291/393), compared to the rainy (14.8%, 58/393) and summer (11.2%, 44/393) seasons. The weaning weight of buffaloes born in the rainy season was greater than their summer and winter counterparts (p < 0.05). The average daily gain (ADG) of summer-born buffaloes was higher than those born in the rainy and the winter seasons (p < 0.01). Results for Study 2 showed no differences in behavioral estrus, clear mucus discharge and dilation of cervical passage among all treatment groups (p > 0.05). However, the pregnancy rate detected by ultrasonography 90 days after TAI and the parturition rate in the Ovsynch group were all 53.3%, which was higher (p < 0.01) than CIDR (40.0%) and Norgestomet (30.0%) treated groups. Moreover, the average cost for those cows treated with CIDR protocols was higher than those with Norgestomet and Ovsynch protocols. In conclusion, breeding in winter season can result in a better birth rate in swamp buffaloes. Adoption of the Ovsynch may have triggered the ovarian activity of buffaloes and have resulted in more than half of the anestrous postpartum swamp buffaloes becoming pregnancy and parturition, as well as simultaneously lowering the cost compared to other synchronization procedures.
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Ten-day progestogens supplementation has been proved to be effective for accelerating the onset of ovarian activity and regular cyclicity in mares during the transition phase [17,18,20]. Acyclic postpartum dairy cows [56,57] and anestrus buffalos [13,58] respond poorly to ovulation protocols without P4 implant comparing with cyclic cows. Hence, pregnancy rates in noncyclic/anestrus cows [57] and buffaloes [13] are improved by adding exogenous P4 to timed artificial insemination protocols.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) at the end of progesterone (P4) treatment on follicular and luteal characteristics during transition period (TP) and reproductive breeding season (RP). A total of 13 crossbred mares were distributed in two experimental groups in the spring and summer (n = 26). The animals received intravaginal P4 (1.9 g) releasing device from D0 to D10. On removal of P4 device, the mares received 400 IU of eCG (eCG group) or saline solution (control group). Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG; 1.750 IU) was administered (DhCG) as soon as ovulatory follicle (OF) ≥35 mm was detected. Ovarian ultrasonography was performed from D0 until 15 days after ovulation. Blood samples were collected on D0, D5, D10, DhCG, 9 days after ovulation (CL9D), and 13 days after ovulation (CL13D). P4 and estradiol concentrations were assessed by chemiluminescence. Data were compared by Tukey test at P < .05. Ovulation rate was similar (P = .096) between seasons (RP = 100%; TP = 70%) but occurred earlier (P = .015) in RP (34.8 ± 10.1 hours) compared with TP (42.0 ± 10.4 hours). Interactions between season and treatment were observed for OF diameter (mm) (RP/control = 36.2 ± 1.8ab; RP/eCG = 32.9 ± 2.8 b; TP/control = 32.2 ± 1.2 b; TP/eCG = 37.2 ± 1.9a; P = .004) and for corpus luteum (CL) diameter (mm) on CL13D (RP/control = 25.4 ± 3.5a; RP/eCG = 22.5 ± 1.8ab; TP/control = 21.6 ± 4.9 b; TP/eCG = 27.4 ± 4.3a; P = .023), although no differences were observed for serum P4 on CL13D (RP/control = 6.0 ± 3.1 ng/mL; RP/eCG = 5.8 ± 0.9 ng/mL; TP/control = 3.6 ± 2.7 ng/mL; TP/eCG = 5.1 ± 2.3 ng/mL; P = .429) or for day of structural CL regression (RP/control = 12.8 ± 1.9; RP/eCG = 12.1 ± 1.1; TP/control = 11.0 ± 1.7; TP/eCG = 13.2 ± 2.0; P = .102). The application of eCG at the moment of P4 implant removal seemed to increase the capacity of luteal maintenance during spring TP. However, eCG treatment was worthless during the breeding season.
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Buffaloes have tendency to show seasonal reproduction and remain in anestrus due to limited ovarian activity during summer. The seasonal reproductive behavior is ascribed the effect of melatonin related to photoperiod. Treating animals with melatonin could be a possible strategy to overcome the problem. The role of MTNR1A gene has not been fully explained in the buffalo. Therefore, we conducted a study on 114 buffalo heifers to detect the polymorphic site in MTNR1A gene and further treated them with melatonin implants to investigate the role of most frequent genotype following melatonin treatment on pregnancy. The present investigation is the first to investigate the association between melatonin treated different MTNR1A genotype buffalo and pregnancy. We confirmed SNP at position 72 in 812 bp fragment exon II of MTNR1A gene. RFLP of PCR products with Hpa I enzyme resulted in three genotypes: TT (812bp), CT (812, 743, 69bp) and CC (743, 69bp). Next, buffaloes of each genotype (TT, CC, CT; n = 28 for each) were treated with melatonin implants to compare the conception rate with their corresponding untreated control (n = 10 for each genotype). Melatonin concentrations were higher (P < 0.05) for the treatment groups of all genotypes compared to their respective untreated control from day 1–28. The pregnancy rate was significantly associated with the MTNR1A genotype. The conception rate was higher (P < 0.05) for TT genotype than for the other genotypes of buffaloes treated with melatonin. Furthermore, buffaloes of TT genotype treated with melatonin started exhibiting estrus activity soon from second week of melatonin treatment (14.1 ± 2.1; range: 10–17 days) and were found to be 7.8 times more likely to become pregnant compared to other genotypes following melatonin treatment. In conclusion, TT genotype of MTNR1A gene is more sensitive to melatonin treatment that favours pregnancy in buffaloes during summer.
Ovulatory and fertility response using modified Heatsynch and Ovsynch protocols in the anovular Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)
2017, Theriogenology
Citation Excerpt :
Above all, GnRH analogues, but not, exogenous estrogen, is reported to induce LH surge and ovulation in the cattle and buffalo. In modified Ovsynch protocol, the EIR of 71.4% and CR of 21.4% in the anovular Murrah buffalo (Table 4) are comparable with the previous reports in the same species [11,12]. It is generally accepted that the Ovsynch protocol results in lowered fertility response in the acyclic buffalo than the cyclic counterpart [24].
We studied the effect of modified Heatsynch and Ovsynch protocols on the ovulatory response (OR), estrus induction rate (EIR) and conception rate (CR) in the anovular postpartum Murrah buffalo (n = 35). In the modified Heatsynch protocol (Group I; n = 12), buffaloes were given two GnRH at 2 h interval on treatment day 0, PGF (PGF2α) on day 7 and estradiol (E₂) 1 mg on day 8. Two FTAI were done at 20 h intervals after E₂ administration. In the modified Ovsynch protocol (Group II; n = 15), GnRH was given on day 0, 7 and 16 with a PGF on day 14. Two FTAI were done; one at last GnRH and the other 20 h later. Group III served as untreated negative control (n = 8). During the treatment, ovarian changes were monitored by transrectal ultrasonography and plasma progesterone (P₄) and E₂. Administration of two GnRH at 2 h interval neither increased the OR nor strengthened the subsequent P₄ priming. Interestingly, in group I, none of the buffalo ovulated to E₂ though the EIR was 100% indicating the occurrence of behavioral, but not ovulatory estrus. Administration of GnRH 7 day prior to the commencement of Ovsynch protocol (Group II) did not improve the CR (21.4%), though the OR was 71.4%. No significant difference was found in the diameter of largest follicle between the ovulated and non-ovulated buffalo in response to GnRH suggesting that follicle of ≥9.5 mm is necessary but not sufficient to induce ovulation in the anovular buffalo. In both the protocols, the plasma P₄ was higher on day 7 in those buffaloes that ovulated to GnRH. Buffaloes treated with modified Ovsynch regimens were 5.27 times more likely to become pregnant than modified Heatsynch protocol. It is concluded that modified Ovsynch protocol is superior to modified Heatsynch protocol in terms of OR and CR.
Strategies to overcome seasonal anestrus in water buffalo
2016, Theriogenology
Citation Excerpt :
Among the hormonal therapies developed for cattle, GnRH plus PGF2α-based TAI protocols resulted in a reduced ovulatory response when applied in anestrous buffalo [5]. Also, during the nonbreeding season, when a high incidence of anestrus is expected, lower pregnancy rates are encountered in those cows synchronized with the Ovsynch protocol for TAI [6–11]. On the contrary, recent studies in buffalo have demonstrated similar pregnancy per TAI in both breeding and nonbreeding seasons after the use progesterone (P4), estradiol (E2), and equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG)-based protocols [12,13].
Reproductive seasonality in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is characterized by behavioral, endocrine, and reproductive changes that occur over distinct periods of the year. During the nonbreeding season (spring and summer), the greater light-dark ratio (long days) suppresses estrus behavior and the occurrence of ovulation. Anestrous buffaloes have insufficient pulsatile of LH to support the final stages of follicular development, and subsequently, estrus behavior and ovulation do not occur, limiting reproductive efficiency, especially in artificial insemination (AI) programs. A number of therapeutic strategies designed to synchronize follicular wave emergence and ovulation have allowed for the use of AI throughout the year, overcoming seasonal anestrus in buffalo. These therapies also improve reproductive performance by increasing the service rate and pregnancy per AI in buffalo herds, regardless of reproductive seasonality.

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Ovarian dynamics and milk progesterone concentrations in cycling and non-cycling buffalo-cows (Bubalus bubalis) during Ovsynch program

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Animals and management

Ovarian response to the first GnRH

Ovarian structures on day 7

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Anim Reprod Sci

Livestock Prod Sci

Theriogenology

Theriogenology

Theriogenology

J Dairy Sci

Theriogenology

Anim Reprod Sci

Theriogenology

J Dairy Sci

Theriogenology

Descriptive epidemiology and treatment of postpartum anestrus in dairy buffalo under small farm conditions

Theriogenology

Sexual behavior of Egyptian buffaloes in postpartum period

Buffalo J