Melatonin rhythms in fetal and maternal circulation during pregnancy in sheep.

In many seasonally breeding species, the nocturnal melatonin rhythm is part of an endogenous biological clock mediating information about day length to time the onset of puberty and the annual adult reproductive cycle. To determine whether timekeeping persists during pregnancy, we studied the pattern of melatonin in circulation in sheep during the last trimester of gestation. We measured plasma melatonin concentrations in the chronically catheterized ewe and fetus (n = 6) over a 48-h period (every 1-4 h) at approximately 120 days gestation. A typical rhythm was present in the pregnant ewes; plasma melatonin was low during the day and remained increased throughout the night. In the fetus, a modest 24-h pattern was detected, which lagged 0.5-1.5 h behind that of the maternal circulation. In combination with findings later in gestation (126 and 135 days) or even during parturition, it is clear that melatonin rhythms were sustained in all pregnant ewes and a 24-h pattern was present in the fetus. In those sheep that went to full term, births occurred during the night at 0130 +/- 2.6 h (mean +/- SE, n = 3). These findings suggest that measurement of day length is maintained in female sheep during the last trimester of pregnancy. Moreover, information about day length and/or time of day may be transferred across the placenta, because the pattern of melatonin in fetal circulation follows the maternal circadian melatonin rhythm.