Response to gonadotrophins differs for gilts from female- and male-biased litters

Seyfang, Jemma; Ralph, C. R.; Tilbrook, Alan John; Kirkwood, Roy N.

doi:10.1016/j.anireprosci.2017.05.012

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…An androgenised uterine environment may increase primordial germ cell proliferation, resulting in a larger TOR. A larger TOR would be in accordance with Seyfang and colleagues [42] who found that androgenised female pigs were more likely to ovulate and had higher CL counts when from a male-biased compared to female-biased litters when treated with gonadotrophins at 18 weeks of age. This could be due to in a higher TOR.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Sex-bias in utero alters ovarian reserve but not uterine capacity in female offspring

Geijer-Simpson

Forde

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Environmental stressors to which a foetus is exposed, affect a range of physiological functions in post-natal offspring. Such stressors include disproportionate steroid hormone concentrations in the uterine environment. We aimed to determine the in-utero effect of steroid hormones on reproductive potential of female offspring using a porcine model. Hypothesising that an in-utero sex bias will influence ovarian reserve and endometrial morphology in the breeding gilt. Reproductive tracts of pigs from female-biased litters (>65% female, n=15), non-biased litters (45-54.9% female, n=15), and male-biased litters (<35% females, n=9) were collected at slaughter (95-115 kg). Ovaries and uterine horns were processed for histological approaches and stained using H&E or IHC techniques. All measurements were conducted in QuPath (Bankhead et al, 2017). Variability of data within groups was analysed with a Levenes test, whilst data was analysed using linear models in R. In the ovarian reserve, there was a significant interaction between the birth weight and the sex ratio of a litter from which a pig originated (p=.015), with low-birth-weight pigs from male-biased litters having a higher number of primordial follicles and the opposite trend seen in pigs from female-biased litters. This was not reflected in recruited, nor atretic follicles. In the uterine horn sex bias held no effect on development as seen in this study. Birth weight held more effects on the gilts. A lower BW decreased the proportion of glands found in the endometrium (p=.045). BW was found to be far more variable in both male-biased and female-biased litters (p=.026). The variability of primordial follicles from male-biased litters was greater than non- and female-biased litters (p=.014). Similarly, endometrial stromal nuclei had a greater range in male- and female-biased litters than non-biased litters (p=.028). There was a greater effect on both ovarian reserve and uterine development of piglet BW than the litter bias. There seems a benefit of being androgenised on ovarian reserve whilst no effects were found for the morphology or endometrial gland proliferation of the uterine horns. However, a crucial finding was in the variability of the data. Both primordial follicles in the male-biased ovary, and stromal nuclei in the male- and female- biased uterine horns had a wider spread in numbers than non-biased litters. This could be inflating the variability of reproductive success seen in animals form male-biased litters by two means. Firstly, by a higher likelihood of insufficient primordial pools. Secondly, through a potential impact on stromal-derived growth factors or insufficient support of the underlying implantation structures, leading to an increased variability in uterine implantation capabilities, and thus survival of the embryo.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Sex-bias in utero alters ovarian reserve but not uterine capacity in female offspring

Geijer-Simpson

Forde

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…The effects of a male-biased litter on reproduction were consistent with the literature, suggesting that gilts from a male-biased litter have been masculinized in utero (Clark et al, 1993;vom Saal et al, 1999;Bánszegi et al, 2012). Being able to determine the birth litter sex ratio using AGD would be beneficial in a gilt selection scheme as the sex ratio of the birth litter can affect behavior and elements of reproduction in pigs (Seyfang et al, 2017(Seyfang et al, , 2018.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Experiment 2 showed that gilts that had a longer AGD achieved puberty earlier and had larger litter Table 3. The anogenital distance (AGD) as measured from the anus to the opening of the vulva in millimeters separated into 2 AGDs; short and long (short = 5.81 to 11.55 mm and long = 11.56 to 17.36 mm) with (mean ± SEM) reproductive data from selection until second parity as well as weight to assess the effect of the AGD on reproductive performance (Seyfang et al, 2017(Seyfang et al, , 2018, and Drickamer et al (1997) found that gilts from male-biased litters were less likely to become pregnant after their first mating than gilts from female-biased litters. This again highlights that the sex ratio of the birth litter can affect masculinization and reproductive performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anogenital distance reflects the sex ratio of a gilt’s birth litter and predicts her reproductive success1

Seyfang

Ralph

Hebart

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Science

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Anogenital distance (AGD) has been used to reflect masculinization in litter-bearing species. As masculinization affects behavior and reproduction, AGD could be measured to assist in selecting gilts with a temperament more suited to commercial production and greater reproductive potential. We hypothesized that gilts from a male-biased litter would have a longer AGD and poorer reproductive performance. In Exp. 1, AGD and weight were measured at day 1, day 21, and week 16 of age for gilts from male-biased litters (≥60% males; n = 51) and female-biased litters (≥60% females; n = 51). Sow AGD was measured 3 d after farrowing. In Exp. 2, AGD was measured at gilt selection at approximately 24 wk of age and gilts followed to second parity. Litter sex ratio affected AGD at 16 wk of age, with gilts from female-biased litters having longer AGD (mean ± SEM, 9.1 ± 0.7 mm vs. 11.0 ± 0.6 mm, P = 0.013). Anogenital distance was not different on day 1 or day 21. There was no effect of sex ratio on weight at any time, and sow AGD was not associated with the sex ratio of her litter. Gilts with an AGD longer than the mean of 11.55 mm were heavier (mean ± SEM, 118.8 ± 0.4 kg vs. 117.7 ± 0.4 kg, P = 0.023), were achieved puberty earlier (179.6 ± 0.6d vs. 182.2 ± 0.6 d, P = 0.001), were mated younger (200.6 ± 0.6 d vs. 203.2 ± 0.6 d, P = 0.001), and were more likely to be mated (91% vs. 83%, P = 0.005) than gilts with an AGD shorter than the mean. Gilts with an AGD greater than 11.55 mm had a greater born alive litter size (11.79 ± 0.20 vs. 11.20 ± 0.19, P = 0.018) compared with gilts with an AGD shorter than 11.55 mm. At 16 wk, AGD was associated with sex bias and could be used as a selection tool to predict reproductive success of the first parity, with a longer AGD being associated with gilts that had been born into a female-biased litter and that had better reproductive performance.

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“…The deficits we have detected in the dynamics of the LH surge do resemble the effects of exposure to excessive concentrations of testosterone in utero and are consistent with previous research in the pig. This previous research indicated gilts from a male-biased litter were less likely to conceive at their first mating, were more sensitive to gonadotropins, were more aggressive and more males in a litter resulted in less teats (Drickamer et al, 1997;Drickamer et al, 1999, Seyfang et al, 2017, 2018. Gilts that developed in utero between 2 males reached puberty earlier than gilts that developed between 2 females while gilts that developed between 2 females showed enhanced receptivity (Parfet et al, 1990a(Parfet et al, , 1990b.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Gilts that failed to conceive on their first mating were more likely to be from a male-biased litter and gilts from a male-biased litter were more sensitive to gonadotropins, more aggressive and more males in a litter resulted in less teats (Drickamer et al, 1997;Drickamer et al, 1999;Seyfang et al, 2017Seyfang et al, , 2018. The physiology and behavior of a gilt can also be affected by its intrauterine position.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex bias of the birth litter affects surge but not tonic LH secretion in gilts1

Seyfang

Kirkwood

Tilbrook

et al. 2018

Journal of Animal Science

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The physiology and behavior of gilts that develop in a male-biased litter can differ from gilts that develop in a female-biased litter. We hypothesized that gilts from male-biased litters will have a delayed and attenuated luteinizing hormone (LH) surge, and reduced LH pulse frequency and amplitude compared to gilts from female-biased litters. Gilts were selected at birth from male-biased (>60% males n = 10) or female-biased (>60% females n = 9) litters. From 18 wk of age, detection of puberty using daily boar contact began and their subsequent estrous periods were synchronized with oral progestogen (altrenogest). On day 3 after altrenogest withdrawal, blood samples were obtained from 6 gilts per sex bias group at 10 min intervals from 0900 to 2100 h to determine LH pulse amplitude and frequency. From 0900 on day 4, all 19 gilts were sampled every 4 h until the end of estrus to characterize LH surge dynamics. There were no differences between groups in LH pulse characteristics. Compared to gilts from female-biased litters, the LH surge in gilts from male-biased litters was delayed [56.00 ± 3.32 h vs. 43.11 ± 3.76 h (mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM)), P < 0.05], the duration was decreased [29.78 ± 2.12 h vs. 37.71 ± 1.19 h (mean ± SEM), P < 0.05] and the total secretion as measured by area under the curve was decreased (91.42 ± 9.52 ng/mL vs. 120.28 ± 9.48 ng/mL, P < 0.05). Our results indicate that a male-biased uterine environment has different effects on the tonic secretion of LH than the LH surge, with only some elements of the LH surge being affected.

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Response to gonadotrophins differs for gilts from female- and male-biased litters

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

Sex-bias in utero alters ovarian reserve but not uterine capacity in female offspring

Sex-bias in utero alters ovarian reserve but not uterine capacity in female offspring

Anogenital distance reflects the sex ratio of a gilt’s birth litter and predicts her reproductive success1

Sex bias of the birth litter affects surge but not tonic LH secretion in gilts1

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