Gonzalez-Ramiro Henar, Cuello Cristina, Cambra Josep M, Gonzalez-Plaza Alejandro, Vazquez Juan M, Vazquez Jose L, Rodriguez-Martinez Heriberto, Gil Maria A, Lucas-Sanchez Alejandro, Parrilla Inmaculada, Martinez Emilio A
Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, International Excellence Campus for Higher Education and Research, Institute for Biomedical Research of Murcia, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
Department of Research and Development, Grupo Agropor I+D+I, AIE, Murcia, Spain.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Nov 18;8:771573. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.771573. eCollection 2021.
Although embryo transfer (ET) is a biotechnology ready for the swine industry, there are factors to be solved, the availability of embryo donors as one. Multiparous sows as donors ought to be considered since weaning is a natural and efficient method for estrus synchronization. In addition, superovulation treatments at weaning are effective in increasing the efficiency of donor embryo production. However, ET programs typically require more donors than those available from a single weaning, imposing grouping several weanings to establish a batch for ET. Since short-term administration of Altrenogest is effective in delaying estrus after weaning without effects on ovulation and embryo development, we investigated how Altrenogest combined with superovulation would affect reproductive parameters and embryo quality and quantity of weaned multiparous donor sows. The sows were administered Altrenogest from the day of weaning for 14 (SS-14 group; = 26), 7 (SS-7 group; = 31) and 4 (SS-4 group; = 32) days. The sows were superovulated with eCG 24 h after the last administration of Altrenogest and with hCG at the onset of estrus. Sows not treated with Altrenogest that were superovulated with eCG 24 h post-weaning and hCG at the onset of estrus (SC group; = 37) and sows with natural estrus after weaning (C group; = 34) were used as control groups. The percentage of sows showing estrus within 10 days was not affected by the treatment, but the interval from Altrenogest withdrawal to estrus was longer ( < 0.05) in the SS groups than the interval from weaning to estrus in the controls. SS treatments increased ( < 0.05) the percentage of sows with ovarian cysts and the development of polycystic ovaries. The pregnancy and the fertilization rates, and the overall embryo production efficiency were also negatively affected by the SS treatments ( < 0.05). Interestingly, almost 70% of the structures classified as unfertilized oocytes or degenerated embryos in sows from the SS groups were immature oocytes. In conclusion, although superovulation of weaned sows was highly efficient, short-term administration of Altrenogest in combination with superovulation had negative effects on most of the reproductive parameters assessed, particularly affecting the overall efficiency of pregnancy and embryo production.
尽管胚胎移植(ET)是一项适用于养猪业的生物技术,但仍有一些因素有待解决,其中之一就是胚胎供体的可获得性。由于断奶是一种自然且有效的发情同步方法,因此应考虑使用经产母猪作为供体。此外,断奶时进行超数排卵处理可有效提高供体胚胎的生产效率。然而,胚胎移植项目通常需要的供体数量比单次断奶所能提供的要多,因此需要将几次断奶的母猪分组以建立一批用于胚胎移植的母猪。由于短期使用烯丙孕素可有效延迟断奶后的发情,且对排卵和胚胎发育没有影响,我们研究了烯丙孕素与超数排卵相结合对断奶经产供体母猪的繁殖参数以及胚胎质量和数量的影响。从断奶当天开始,给母猪分别注射烯丙孕素14天(SS - 14组;n = 26)、7天(SS - 7组;n = 31)和4天(SS - 4组;n = 32)。在最后一次注射烯丙孕素24小时后给母猪注射eCG进行超数排卵,并在发情开始时注射hCG。未用烯丙孕素处理、断奶后24小时注射eCG并在发情开始时注射hCG的母猪(SC组;n = 37)以及断奶后自然发情的母猪(C组;n = 34)作为对照组。处理对10天内发情母猪的百分比没有影响,但SS组从停止使用烯丙孕素到发情的间隔时间比对照组从断奶到发情的间隔时间更长(P < 0.05)。SS处理增加了(P < 0.05)出现卵巢囊肿的母猪百分比以及多囊卵巢的发生率。SS处理对妊娠率、受精率以及总体胚胎生产效率也有负面影响(P < 0.05)。有趣的是,SS组母猪中几乎70%被归类为未受精卵母细胞或退化胚胎的结构是未成熟卵母细胞。总之,尽管断奶母猪的超数排卵效率很高,但短期使用烯丙孕素与超数排卵相结合对所评估的大多数繁殖参数都有负面影响,尤其影响妊娠和胚胎生产的总体效率。