ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2013, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (10): 1547-1553.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2013.10.006

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Seasonal Variations of Reproductive Hormone Level in Year-round andSeasonal Estrus Sheep

HE Jian-ning1,WANG Jin-xin1,DI Ran1*,WANG Yao-wu1,SUN Xiao-di2,YANG Zhi-min2,LIU Qiu-yue1,ZHANG Xin-rong3,REN De-xin3,CUI Bao-guo3,CAI Zhan-rong3, CHU Ming-xing1*   

  1. (1. Key Laboratory of Farm Animal Genetic Resources and Germplasm Innovation of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China; 2. College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China 3. Breeding Farm of Tan Sheep in Ningxia,Yanchi 751506, China)
  • Received:2013-05-06 Online:2013-10-23 Published:2013-10-23

Abstract:

 The objective of this study is to analyze the reproductive hormone seasonal variations of year-round and seasonal estrous sheep. E2, P4, FSH and LH concentration in serum were determined, and the results could provide theoretical basis of hormone for regulating the seasonal reproduction in sheep. Blood samples were collected from five adult Small-tailed Han ewes and five adult Tan ewes in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The serum E2, P4, FSH and LH were measured by radioimmunoassay. According to the observation, the Small-tailed Han sheep kept estrous status during four seasons, while the Tan sheep started estrus in August and ended in March. The results showed that these four hormone level in Small-tailed Han sheep had no significant changes around the year. However, it was different in Tan sheep, P4, FSH and LH concentration in estrous season were significantly higher(P<0.05) than those in anestrous season. According to the analysis between two breeds, E2 level has no significant differenceP>0.05around the year. The serum P4 and FSH concentration in Small-tailed Han sheep were significantly higher(P<0.05) than in Tan sheep during spring and summer. The LH level in Small-tailed Han sheep was higher than in Tan sheep, however, which has no significant difference (P>0.05) between two breeds except in winter. These results indicated that a certain level of E2 and P4 were needed for sheep year-round estrous, and high level of FSH and LH were necessary for year-round estrus or polyembryony in sheep.

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