Buffaloes are raised by small farm holders primarily as source of draft power owing to its resistance to hot climate, disease, and stress conditions. Over the years, transformation of these animals from draft to dairy was deliberately carried out through genetic improvement program leading to the development of buffalo-based enterprises. Buffalo production is now getting more attention and interest from buffalo raisers due to its socioeconomic impact as well as its contribution to propelling the livestock industry in many developing countries. Reproduction of buffaloes, however, is confronted with huge challenge and concern as being generally less efficient to reproduce compared with cattle due to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as poor estrus manifestation, silent heat, marked seasonal infertility, postpartum anestrus, long calving interval, delayed puberty, inherently low number of primordial follicles in their ovaries, high incidence of atresia, and apoptosis. Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are major interventions for the efficient utilization of follicle reserve in buffaloes. The present review focuses on estrus and ovulation synchronization for fixed time artificial insemination, in vitro embryo production, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos, somatic cell nuclear transfer, the factors affecting utilization in various ARTs, and future perspectives in buffaloes.
The relationship between kisspeptin and GnRH releasing in many species has been studied including post-pubertal buffalo, but not in pre-pubertal buffalo. The aims of this study were to detect the localization of Kiss1mRNA and the distribution of kisspeptin protein in the preoptic (POA) and arcuate (ARC) hypothalamic nuclei of pre-pubertal swamp buffaloes. Brains were collected from ten pre-pubertal female buffaloes (<1 year, 1-1.5 years, 1.5-2 years, 2-2.5 years and 2.5-3 years; two animals each age) and processed for paraffin blocks. Four-micron paraffin sections of the POA and ARC hypothalamic nuclei were prepared. The present research found evidence of Kiss1 mRNA in the cytoplasm of the neuronal soma and some small neuronal cells using the in-situ hybridization technique in all ten heifers. Using the immunohistochemistry technique, kisspeptin proteins expressed a weak intensity in the cellular process of neurons. The distribution of kisspeptin immunoreactions were found mainly in the POA hypothalamic nucleus in the juvenile group (<1 years) and only in the ARC area in the 1-2.5 years old prepubertal group. However, there was no kisspeptin reaction in both hypothalamic nuclei in the 2.5-3 years (peri-pubertal) group (P<0.01). This study provides evidence of Kiss1 mRNA and kisspeptin protein in the hypothalamus of prepubertal buffaloes. This suggests that kisspeptin may be involved in reproductive development and may influence puberty onset in swamp buffalo heifers.
Although intravaginal progesterone supplement protocols are commonly used to prepare cattle and river buffalo for insemination or embryo transfer, swamp buffalo have unique reproductive characteristics (such as difficulty of oestrous detection and a small reproductive tract) that make this procedure problematic. Ovulation synchronization (Ovsynch) is a practical alternative preparatory program that does not require oestrous detection and is used worldwide for cattle and river buffalo breeding. Published studies on the efficacy of its use in swamp buffalo, however, are rare. Our objective was to determine the efficacy of the Ovsynch regimen in swamp buffalo in terms of conception rate, economic cost, and potential health complications. Thirty healthy swamp buffaloes (n = 24 cows and n = 6 heifers) were selected by a breeding soundness examination (BSE) as in our previous study (Chaikhun-Marcou et al. 2017 Agric. Sci. J. 48(Suppl.), 929-938). The animals had the following characteristics: >300 kg of body weight, a body condition score of 2.5 to 3.5/5, cervix diameter >2.5 cm, and ovarian diameter >1.5 cm with a dominant follicle (with or without corpus luteum). The standard Ovsynch program was applied in the animals during January to March 2017. All buffaloes were fixed-time inseminated at 20 ± 2 h and 32 ± 2 h after the 2nd gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) injection. Pregnancy diagnosis was detected by plasma progesterone analysis on Day 24 after insemination (≥1 ng mL−1). Our oestrous synchronization rate, published in a previous study (Chaikhun-Marcou et al. 2017 Agric. Sci. J. 48(Suppl.), 929-938), was 96.67% (n = 29/30). The conception rate was 70% (n = 21/30). This result is much higher than a previous Ovsynch study in swamp buffalo, which was 34% (n = 18/52) (Chaikhun et al. 2010 Theriogenology 74, 1371-1376). This difference demonstrates the importance of pre-screening animals for BSE before subjecting them to this procedure. If this pre-selection protocol is applied, the Ovsynch program, as shown in this study, can be a convenient, effective, and noninvasive preparatory procedure for insemination. Because recipients of both AI and embryo transfer require the same basic biological preconditions, the Ovsynch protocol should be an equally effective preparation for this procedure. Ovsynch, moreover, requires much less labour (only 3 animal handling sessions, with no need for complicated heat detection), entails fewer possible complications (such as the danger of vaginitis when using an intravaginal progesterone device, which can lead to problems with embryonic implantation), and is economically affordable (approximately US$20/animal). In conclusion, the Ovsynch program, combined with BSE pre-screening, could be a practical, stress-free procedure for preparation of swamp buffalo embryo transfer recipients in the near future. This research was sponsored by Agricultural Research Development Agency (PRP5805011500).
Neospora caninum is now recognized as a major cause of abortion in cattle worldwide. The prevalence of N. caninum infection in buffaloes reported worldwide caused the buffalo considered to be an important intermediate host of N. caninum even though the role of N. caninum infection in buffalo is still unclear. At present, there was only few reports concerned N. caninum infection in buffaloes from Thailand. We examined the seroprevalence of N. caninum antibodies in 112 clinical healthy buffaloes from the central, Thailand using a commercial competitive ELISA (VMRD, Pullman, USA). Antibodies to N. caninum were found in 78 out of 112 buffaloes (69.6%). Our study showed the high seroprevalence of N. caninum infection in buffaloes from Thailand. To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. caninum infection in Murah, river buffaloes and crossbred buffaloes in Thailand.
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