Relationships among body composition, circulating concentrations of leptin and follistatin, and the onset of puberty and fertility in young female sheep

Abstract

The onset of puberty depends on the attainment of critical body mass, so should also be affected by increases in the rate of accumulation of muscle and adipose tissue. Adipose tissue and reproduction are linked by leptin. For muscle, a link has not yet been identified, although one possibility is follistatin. We assessed the relationships among circulating concentrations of follistatin and leptin and the rates of growth and accumulation of muscle and fat during pubertal development in female sheep. We used 326 animals with known phenotypic values for live weight (LW), depths of eye muscle (EMD) and fat (FAT), and known breeding values at post-weaning age for body mass (PWT) and depths of eye muscle (PEMD) and fat (PFAT). Leptin concentration was positively correlated with values for EMD, PEMD, FAT, PFAT, LW and PWT (P<0.001), whereas follistatin concentration was negatively correlated with values for EMD and PWT (P<0.001), and PEMD (P<0.01) and FAT (P<0.05). Leptin concentration was negatively related to age and positively related to live weight at first oestrus and the proportion of females that attained puberty (P≤0.05), and to fertility and reproductive rate (P<0.01). Follistatin concentration was negatively related to live weight at first oestrus and to fertility (P<0.01) and reproductive rate (P<0.05). There were positive correlations (P<0.001) between muscle accumulation and leptin concentration, and between muscle accumulation and reproductive performance. We conclude that leptin and follistatin are probably both involved in effects of accelerated accumulation of muscle and adipose tissues on the onset of puberty.

Relationships among Puberty, Muscle and Fat, and Liveweight Gain during Mating in Young Female Sheep

“…This relationship reflects the physiological links between muscle tissue and reproductive function in young female sheep (Rosales Nieto et al. ). For industry, it is important to note that promotion of muscle accumulation, and therefore meat production, might also promote early puberty and enhanced reproductive performance.…”

“…The outcome of mating at puberty might also be affected by variation in the rates of accumulation of muscle and fat because phenotypes for these factors are positively correlated with fertility and reproductive rate (Rosales Nieto et al. ,b, ). It seems unlikely that differences in muscle and fat accumulation would influence the effects of hypothetical interactions between live weight and LWG during mating on reproductive performance.…”

Pituitary-Derived Circular RNAs Expression and Regulatory Network Prediction During the Onset of Puberty in Landrace × Yorkshire Crossbred Pigs

“…Puberty can usually be defined as the first estrus of gilts, and the initiation of puberty implies the acquired capacity for sexual reproduction in pigs (Nonneman et al, 2016). An early onset of puberty can shorten the generation interval of livestock, and further accelerate the genetic breeding process (Rosales Nieto et al, 2014;Luo et al, 2017). Yet, surprisingly little is known about the molecular regulation of puberty's timing in pigs.…”

Identification of differential genomic DNA Methylation in the hypothalamus of pubertal rat using reduced representation Bisulfite sequencing

“…In contrast, domesticated animals are bred for early puberty [ 6 , 7 ]. In animal production, breeding of early puberty livestock can save feeding costs and improve the utilization of animal, while it can also shorten the generation interval of fine animals and accelerate the genetic breeding process [ 8 , 9 ].…”