Mating and consequent reproduction significantly reduce the ability of female Drosophila melanogaster to defend against systemic bacterial infection. The goal of the present study was to identify genes likely to inform the mechanism of this post-mating immunosuppression. We used microarrays to contrast genome-wide transcript levels in virgin vs. mated females before and after infection. Because...

The dual-purpose bovine production system (DP) is the most widespread small-scale model in Latin American tropics, where it constitutes a key tool terms of food security. Most DPs are subsistence farms oriented to self-consumption, with very low technology adoption rate. Hence, main challenge how improve technological level without compromising sustainability by applying land-sharing practices....

Our objective was to study the effects of housing conditions and the amount of boar contact in a protocol for estrus detection on estrus detection rate, timing of onset of estrus, duration of estrus, and timing of ovulation. After weaning, 130 multiparous sows were assigned to three treatments: HI, in which 52 sows were housed individually in crates and received a high amount of boar contact du...

Successful reproduction is critical to pass genes to the next generation. Seminal proteins contribute to important reproductive processes that lead to fertilization in species ranging from insects to mammals. In Drosophila, the male's accessory gland is a source of seminal fluid proteins that affect the reproductive output of males and females by altering female post-mating behavior and physiol...

In a previous study, Meek and Lee found that female meadow voles mated within three distinct time periods after pairing with a male, and fertility was influenced by the time of mating and photoperiod. In the present studies, we tested the hypothesis that different patterns of mating would correlate with high and low fertility. We found two very different patterns of mating were correlated with ...

Wild Canis species such as the coyote (C. latrans) express a suite of reproductive traits unusual among mammals, including perennial pair-bonds and paternal care of the young. Coyotes also are monestrous, and both sexes are fertile only in winter; thus, they depend upon social and physiologic synchrony for successful reproduction. To investigate the mutability of seasonal reproduction in coyote...