Sheep wool cortisol as a retrospective measure of long-term HPA axis activity and its links to body mass

Fürtbauer, Ines; Solman, C.; Fry, Amanda L.

doi:10.1016/j.domaniend.2018.12.009

Cited by 22 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Cortisol is the main glucocorticoid hormone in sheep ( Fulkerson & Tang, 1979 ; Tilbrook & Clarke, 2006 ). Cortisol has a low molecular weight and lipophilic nature which attributes to its physiological (genomic and non-genomic) functions to regulate many cellular processes such as blood glucose regulation and immuno-suppression, and well-characterized regulation of the HPA axis on animal health and cognition events ( Do, Eosu & Man-Ho, 2014 ; Fürtbauer, Solman & Fry, 2019 ). Non-invasive wool hormone methodology can be applied to determine longitudinal changes occurring in cortisol levels during pregnancy and post lambing ( Sawyer, Webster & Narayan, 2019 ; Nejad et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre- and post-partum variation in wool cortisol and wool micron in Australian Merino ewe sheep (Ovis aries)

Sawyer

Fox

Narayan

2021

PeerJ

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An individual merino sheep’s output of wool production is influenced by synergistic interactions of sheep genetics, climate, farm management, and nutrition available to the whole flock. The price paid to the producer for this wool commodity is determined via numerous tested parameters and /or subjective appraisal of the raw greasy wool. This research investigated the level of variation in wool cortisol (a physiological stress biomarker) and wool micron (MIC) in Merino ewes (Ovis aries), pre-partum and post-lambing (lactation/lambs at foot), using maiden ewe (n = 38) managed in an outdoor paddock in a commercial farm. The key findings of this study are; (1) wool quality indicators showed a significant variation between pre- and post- parturition including significant reduction in MIC and (2) there was a negative correlation between wool cortisol levels and wool micron pre-parturition (rs = − 0.179, p < 0.05). This relationship between wool cortisol and wool micron was positive (rs = + 0.29, p < 0.05) during post-parturition suggesting that ewes with lambs at foot ended up with finer wool (reduction in fibre diameter) but they also maintained high levels of wool cortisol. Furthermore, the comfort factor, curvature, standard deviation and spin fineness of the wool were also significantly reduced post-parturition. The results of this study show that metabolic resources partitioning in ewe associated with pregnancy and lambing can result in a reduction in wool quality indices. The activity of the HPA-axis is attenuated during late gestation and parturition as a maternal adaptation; however, the results of our study show that wool cortisol remained similar between pre- and post- lambing. This result indicates that environmental stressors that may have been operating on farm (e.g., cold winter period) could influence on maternal physiological stress response however the exact level of influence of environment conditions on ewe stress levels and productivity traits (e.g., lambing success and wool quality) warrants further investigation. In conclusion, the use of top-knot wool sampling in combination with wool cortisol analysis provides researchers with a convenient method to quantify wool quality and physiological stress simultaneously under commercial sheep production.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pre- and post-partum variation in wool cortisol and wool micron in Australian Merino ewe sheep (Ovis aries)

Sawyer

Fox

Narayan

2021

PeerJ

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“…Despite hair growth rates varying across species, several studies suggest that hair cortisol measures can be used as a retrospective calendar of HPA axis activity (Raul et al 2004;Kirschbaum et al 2009;Meyer & Novak 2012;Carlitz et al 2014;Burnard et al 2017;Fürtbauer et al 2019). Hair sample collection is relatively simple, depending on the species.…”

Section: Hormones From Hair/woolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hair sample collection is relatively simple, depending on the species. In humans a sample can be easily cut from the back of the head (D'Anna- Hernandez et al 2011;van Holland et al 2012), in cattle and domestic species that are regularly/easy to handle, samples can be taken through simple restrain (Comin et al 2011;Roth et al 2016;Grigg et al 2017;Peric et al 2017;Fürtbauer et al 2019), whereas wild primate species would usually need to be placed under anaesthetic (Fairbanks et al 2011;Grant et al 2017). Samples can be stored at room temperature for extended periods before extraction and analysis, providing a major advantage (Raul et al 2004;D'Anna-Hernandez et al 2011).…”

Section: Hormones From Hair/woolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to the increasing interest in agricultural welfare, wool cortisol concentrations have also been used to asses long-term HPA axis activity in sheep (Ghassemi Nejad et al 2014;Stubsjøen et al 2015;Salaberger et al 2016;Nejad et al 2017;Fürtbauer et al 2019). Whilst, wool fibres have different characteristics from hair, the continuous growth of the wool fibres mean that they can be used as a retrospective calendar of HPA axis activity (Ghassemi Nejad et al 2014;Burnard et al 2017).…”

Section: Hormones From Hair/woolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Whilst, wool fibres have different characteristics from hair, the continuous growth of the wool fibres mean that they can be used as a retrospective calendar of HPA axis activity (Ghassemi Nejad et al 2014;Burnard et al 2017). Wool samples are collected in a similar way as hair, with wool being shaved as close to the skin as possible with the proximal end of the sample being used for analysis (Burnard et al 2017;Fürtbauer et al 2019). Extraction and analysis of wool samples mirror those described above for hair samples (see Chapter 6 for full methodology on wool cortisol extraction and analysis).…”

Section: Hormones From Hair/woolmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Endocrine and Behavioural Plasticity in Vertebrates

Amanda¹

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Endocrine plasticity is the reversible change in endocrine traits in response to unpredicted changes in an animals’ physical and social environment. Inter-individual differences in how individuals’ endocrine traits vary can occur as a result of differences in how individuals’ hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal/interrenal (HPA/I axis) respond to stressors. However, it remains unknown if and how the variation in individuals’ baseline stress hormones (measured by glucocorticoids) can predict stress-induced plasticity. In this thesis, I aim to gain a more in-depth understanding of variation in endocrine plasticity over a range of physical and social environmental changes across different vertebrate systems, and the potential factors (behavioural and morphological) driving it. First, I review the literature on between-individual variation in endocrine plasticity to better understand why and how plasticity occurs (Chapter 1) and provide an overview of my methods and study systems (Chapter 2). Second, I investigate the effects of familiarity and recent social context on cortisol responses (Chapter 3) and behavioural responses (Chapter 4) in three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Third I investigate endocrine plasticity in humans (Homo sapiens) and potential links to BIG 5 personality measures in a social task (Chapter 5). Fourth, I investigate long-term plasticity in Welsh mountain ewes (Ovis aries) in response to changing food availability (Chapter 6). Across these three different study systems I find i) endocrine repeatability, which can be considered equivalent to personality traits, ii) evidence for endocrine plasticity and between-individual differences in plasticity, and iii) links between endocrine repeatability and plasticity to between variations behavioural/morphological traits. In the final chapter (Chapter 7) I discuss how these findings advance our understanding of how individuals respond and adapt to environmental challenges.

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Determination of hair cortisol in horses: comparison of immunoassay vs LC-HRMS/MS

et al. 2022

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The measure of hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is becoming an emerging approach to monitor mid-/long-term stress in animals, so it is more and more important to develop accurate and reliable methods. In the light of this, the aim of the present study was to compare mane HCCs of 47 horses with different managements, by means of an immunoassay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography coupled to hybrid high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS/MS). After the washing step, the ground hair was extracted with methanol. The extract was evaporated and redissolved in two different aqueous solutions, depending on the detection technique. The methods were validated according to EMA guideline for bioanalytical method validation, in the range 2–50 pg mg−1 (ELISA) and 1–100 pg mg−1 (LC-HRMS/MS). Satisfactory quantitative performances were obtained for both of the approaches, but this latter demonstrated better precision. The detected concentrations in real samples were encompassing the range 1.3–8.8 pg mg−1 and 2.0–17.9 pg mg−1 by means of LC-HRMS/MS and ELISA, respectively. Overall, HCCs measured with ELISA technique were 1.6 times higher. The overestimation of immunoassay results might be caused by cross-reactivity phenomena of laboratory reagents and other structurally similar hormones present in the mane. Graphical abstract

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Sheep wool cortisol as a retrospective measure of long-term HPA axis activity and its links to body mass

Abstract: Sheep wool cortisol as a retrospective measure of long-term HPA-axis activity and links to body mass. Domestic Animal Endocrinology

Cited by 22 publications

References 66 publications

Pre- and post-partum variation in wool cortisol and wool micron in Australian Merino ewe sheep (Ovis aries)

Pre- and post-partum variation in wool cortisol and wool micron in Australian Merino ewe sheep (Ovis aries)

Endocrine and Behavioural Plasticity in Vertebrates

Determination of hair cortisol in horses: comparison of immunoassay vs LC-HRMS/MS

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