Background: Leptin, the hormonal product of the obese (ob) gene, circulates in the blood at levels paralleling those of fat reserves and regulates satiety. In cattle, leptin has also been implicated in the control of ovarian function, but its local production in the ovary and role in the control of ovarian function in autocrine/paracrine manner is unknown. The aims of this study were to documen...

Up to 50% of ovulations go undetected in modern dairy herds due to attenuated oestrus behavior and a lack of high-accuracy methods for detection of fertile oestrus. This significantly reduces overall herd productivity and constitutes a high economic burden to the dairy industry. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitous regulators of gene expression during both health and disease and they have been sho...

In nature it is the general rule that animals breed once annually and parturition occurs in the spring, the time most favourable to the progeny in that they grow up during the period of increasing light and warmth and also at the time when food for the mother is most abundant and adequate lactation is ensured. Under the conditions of feeding and housing provided by domestication the breeding se...

The endometrium plays a central role among the reproductive tissues in the context of early embryo-maternal communication and pregnancy. It undergoes typical changes during the sexual/oestrous cycle, which are regulated by the ovarian hormones progesterone and oestrogen. To identify the underlying molecular mechanisms we have performed the first holistic screen of transcriptome changes in bovin...

Although female preferences are well studied in many mammals, the possible effects of the oestrous cycle are not yet sufficiently understood. Here we investigate female preferences for visual and non-visual male traits relative to the periodically cycling of sexual proceptivity (oestrus) and inactivity (dioestrus), respectively, in the polygynous horse (Equus caballus). We individually exposed ...

The concentration of oestradiol was measured by radioimmunoassay in ovarian venous plasma collected from ewes of three breeds (Finnish Landrace, Scottish Blackface and Tasmanian Merino) on Day 9 of the oestrous cycle and in jugular venous plasma collected daily around oestrus in two of these breeds. The mean +/- s.e.m. concentration in the ovarian venous plasma of the Merino (44.1 +/- 7.6 pg/ml...

In this paper, an account of various aspects related to buffalo reproduction are given. Fundamental concepts of the reproductive physiology as well as manipulation of the reproductive function will be presented. This will include an overview of the most recent developments of the oestrous cycle and the ovulation control, new strategies of reproductive management for the improvement of genetic g...

An enzyme-immunoassay using horseradish peroxidase as label is described. The assay has a sensitivity of 0.1-20 pmol, i.e. 0.03-0.63 ng and intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation of less than 10% when used for the determination of progesterone in samples of milk from cows. Comparison with a radio-immunoassay based on tritiated tracer showed excellent correlation (r = 0.98) for milk sa...