Numerous subclinical diseases in sheep occur in the periparturient period and involve inflammatory processes; therefore, determining markers, such as acute‐phase proteins (APPs), can allow an early diagnosis. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to assess changes in the plasma concentration of APPs and cortisol in clinically healthy ewes in the periparturient period for use in future studies. At the same time, haematological parameters were monitored. We showed that plasma APPs and cortisol concentrations were significantly higher in pregnant ewes than before insemination. A gradual increase in the SAA concentration was observed from the 14th day before to the day of parturition, while Hp was reduced from 2 weeks before up to 2 weeks after delivery. A significant increase in the Fb concentration was detected from the 14th day before to the 1st week after delivery. The cortisol concentration did not undergo significant changes in the periparturient period. We found an increase in the SAA and Fb concentrations and decrease in Hp in the periparturient period. The direction of the change in APPs of healthy ewes in the current study may be related to their distinct regulatory mechanisms during pregnancy. The APPs are usually altered during infection, inflammation, neoplasia, stress and trauma; therefore, knowing their reference values could help lead to an early diagnosis of subclinical forms of some diseases and pregnancy complications in ewes. The haematological analysis showed that ewes in late pregnancy and postpartum compared to dry period were under metabolic stress related to pregnancy and lactation.
The main objective of the study was to determine the genetic diversity in the Polish Konik (PK) population in the context of a currently conducted conservation program. A total of 94 horses of 16 PK dam lines currently distinguished by breeders were considered. Pedigree analyses were carried out for the whole population of PK registered in the studbook. Basic molecular parameters were estimated. The average group linkage clustering method was used based on the Euclidean similarity measurements between the lines. The allele frequency of 17 microsatellites was used to determine Euclidean distances. Inbreeding coefficients were extracted from the additive relationship matrix. Moreover, some pedigree parameters were estimated. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.48 to 0.76. The expected heterozygosity estimated for the dam lines was higher. PIC values were higher than 0.6 in all the lines. Fis ranged from –0.19 to 0.28, whereas Fit and Fst varied between 0.12 and 0.41 and 0.12 and 0.29, respectively. Minor dissimilarity distances existed for some dam lines. The inbreeding level was 9.3%. The average number of discrete generation equivalents reached 6.85. The majority of the dam lines are not genetically differentiated. Hence, a revision of the breeding strategy seems to be necessary.
Nanowater (NW; water declusterized in the low-temperature plasma reactor) has specific physicochemical properties that could increase semen viability after freezing and hence fertility after artificial insemination (AI) procedures. The main goal of this study was to evaluate ram semen quality after freezing in the media containing NW. Ejaculates from 10 rams were divided into two equal parts, diluted in a commercially available semen extender (Triladyl Õ ; MiniTü b GmbH, Tiefenbach, Germany) prepared with deionized water (DW) or NW, and then frozen in liquid nitrogen. Semen samples were examined for sperm motility and morphology using the sperm class analyzer system and light microscopy. Cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) was employed to determine the size of extracellular water crystals in frozen semen samples. Survival time at room temperature, aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentrations post-thawing as well as conception/lambing rates after laparoscopic intrauterine AI of 120 ewes were also determined. There were no significant differences between DW and NW groups in sperm progressive motility (26.4 AE 12.2 and 30.8 AE 12.4%) or survival time (266.6 AE 61.3 and 270.9 AE 76.7 min) after thawing and no differences in the percentages of spermatozoa with various morphological defects before or after freezing. There were, however, differences (P < 0.05) in AspAT (DW: 187.1 AE 160.4 vs. NW: 152.7 AE 118.3 U/l) and ALP concentrations (DW: 2198.3 AE 1810.5 vs. NW: 1612.1 AE 1144.8 U/l) in semen samples post-thawing. Extracellular water crystals were larger (P < 0.05) in ejaculates frozen in NW-containing media. Ultrasonographic examinations on day 40 post-AI revealed higher (P < 0.05) conception rates in ewes inseminated with NW (78.3%) compared with DW semen (58.3%), and the percentages of ewes that carried lambs to term were 73.3% and 45.0% in NW and DW groups, respectively (P < 0.01). In summary, the use of a semen extender prepared with NW was associated with a substantial improvement in the fertilizing ability of frozen-thawed ram semen and lamb productivity of inseminated ewes.
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