The influence of antibiotic treatment of bitches in oestrus on their attractiveness to males during mating

Cattle have a genital microbiome that is established early in life, even before calving. Microbial influx into the reproductive system of cows, during calving or mating, is unavoidable and is likely to alter the commensal microflora composition. It is now well established that a commensal endometrial flora is largely responsible for the overall fertility of cows. These microbes are important for maintenance of structural integrity of the genital mucosal barrier, immunomodulation, and protection against pathogens. Further, the genital microbiome functions in the semiochemical communication between a male and female. An optimal balance between the abundance and diversity of the microbiome is essential to promote female genital tract health. Disruption of this balance leads to dysbiosis and genital diseases and perturbed fertility. As part of the global strategy of One World, One Health, there is a need to reduce antibiotic use in animals. This area of research has the potential to expand the knowledge about the nexus between the endometrial microbiome and fertility including being probiotic in different species.

Section: Dysbiosis and Genital Microbiome Disruptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of the Diversity of the Genital Tract Microbiome and Implications for Fertility of Cattle

Adnane

Chapwanya

2022

“…It is worth mentioning that inflammatory conditions like vulvovaginitis in females could be responsible for the increased interest of the male in some cases. What also seems to be important is that, according to the literature, the bacterial flora could be involved in the creation of the final semiochemical signal, thus its alteration could influence the composition of the VOCs emitted by the individual [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. From the other side the inflammation by itself could be the reason for modification of the VOCs, for example, present in the urine, what was experimentally confirmed in the study of Gordon [ 47 ], in which the induced inflammatory process was the reason for appearance in the urine of the compounds usually not detectable there in humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Case of Atypical Sexual Attractiveness in a Male Domestic Dog—A Case Study

Woszczyło

Szumny

Łyczko

et al. 2021

During the ovarian cycle in domestic dogs, females do not accept males during the first days of estrus but become attractive to males from the beginning of proestrus, with this attractiveness persisting until the end of the estrus phase. It is believed that increased estradiol is responsible for the female attractiveness to the males. In this paper we describe the case of strong, but atypical attractiveness of a castrated male to various, adult, intact males, influenced by the emitted semiochemical signals. Any significant changes in the level of hormones typically involved in the process connected with estrus and responsible for sexual arousal in the males were assessed. The case animal was a 4 year old castrated male Border Collie that was extremely attractive to various males, which presented high levels of sexual arousal, with intensive sniffing and licking of the preputial area, specific vocalization, increased salivation and, finally, mating attempts. Clinical examination of the castrated male revealed a lack of testes in the scrotum and abdominal cavity confirmed by USG. Laboratory tests indicated basal levels of estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone (15.23 pg/mL, <0.05 ng/mL, 0.25 ng/mL), and sex was confirmed via cytogenetic and molecular analysis. Chemical analysis (HS-SPME) of the urine indicated a huge similarity to the profile obtained from a bitch in estrus, with an elevated level of acetophenone, which has been previously postulated in the literature as being a characteristic of the estrus phase in female domestic dogs. This case presented very atypical sexual attractiveness, particularly when taking into account the basal levels of hormones which, according to current knowledge, are responsible for the creation of attractiveness. As a hypothesis requiring verification, we propose the idea of involvement of other hormones in the creation of incidental attractiveness or increased production of compounds responsible for attractiveness (sex pheromones) resulting from metabolic events unrelated to reproductive processes. To our knowledge it is the first described case presenting this phenomenon, which, with more detailed study, could shed new light on the process of creation of sexual attraction in the domestic dog.

“…It has been observed that some stud dogs can distinguish between particular phases of heat in bitches, and will attempt mating only with females that are at the so-called optimal time for mating—a behavior that some breeders used to use for identification of this period instead of using a laboratory test based on progesterone level determination [ 151 , 152 ]. Moreover, dogs were also able to detect changes in the odor of a female in estrus treated with antibiotics [ 153 ].…”

Section: Recognition Of the Physiological State By Olfactionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canine Olfaction: Physiology, Behavior, and Possibilities for Practical Applications

Kokocińska

Woszczyło

Zybala

et al. 2021

Olfaction in dogs is crucial for gathering important information about the environment, recognizing individuals, making decisions, and learning. It is far more specialized and sensitive than humans’ sense of smell. Using the strength of dogs’ sense of smell, humans work with dogs for the recognition of different odors, with a precision far exceeding the analytical capabilities of most modern instruments. Due to their extremely sensitive sense of smell, dogs could be used as modern, super-sensitive mobile area scanners, detecting specific chemical signals in real time in various environments outside the laboratory, and then tracking the odor of dynamic targets to their source, also in crowded places. Recent studies show that dogs can detect not only specific scents of drugs or explosives, but also changes in emotions as well as in human cell metabolism during various illnesses, including COVID-19 infection. Here, we provide an overview of canine olfaction, discussing aspects connected with anatomy, physiology, behavioral aspects of sniffing, and factors influencing the olfactory abilities of the domestic dog (Canis familiaris).