Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T06:31:40.674Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Interrelationships between growth, gonadotrophin secretion and sexual maturation in gilts reared in different litter sizes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

S. G. Deligeorgis ,
P. R. English ,
G. A. Lodge  and
G. R. Foxcroft
S. G. Deligeorgis
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, University of Aberdeen, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
P. R. English
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, University of Aberdeen, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
G. A. Lodge
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, University of Aberdeen, 581 King Street, Aberdeen AB9 1UD
G. R. Foxcroft
Affiliation:
AFRC Group on Hormones and Farm Animal Reproduction, University of Nottingham School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough LE12 5RD
Get access

Abstract

One gilt from each of 24 littermate trios was assigned at birth to one of three treatments which were to adjust litter size to six, nine or 12 piglets. Plasma luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured before and after stimulation with 1 ng gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) per kg body weight at 55 and 140 days of age. At 150 days, oestrogen was administered and ovarian and uterine responses were measured at slaughter on day 160.

Litter size significantly modified pre-weaning growth rate (P < 0·01) but did not influence gonadotrophin secretion or sexual maturity at slaughter. The family of origin significantly influenced ovarian and uterine development (P < 0·05) and the LH and FSH responses to GnRH at 55 days (P < 0·05). Family size (P < 0·01) and sex ratio of the litter at birth (P < 0·05) also influenced the ovarian response to oestrogen treatment. Significant sire effects on ovarian and uterine development were established (P < 0·05); for the progeny of individual boars significant differences in the response to oestrogen were associated with significant differences in growth rate (P < 0·001).

Variations in family birth and litter weaning weights were negatively correlated with ovarian and uterine development (P < 0·05), whereas all measures of growth from weaning to slaughter were significantly and positively correlated with sexual maturity at slaughter (P < 0·05).

Basal FSH and the responses of both LH and FSH to GnRH at 55 days were correlated with growth rate at day 55 (P < 0·05). Basal LH and FSH at day 140 were correlated with ovarian and uterine development at day 160 (P < 0·05).

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , December 1985 , pp. 393 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aboul-Ela, M. B. E. 1980. A study of the vaginal electrical resistance in cattle as related to hormone changes and its application in the detection of oestrus. Ph.D. Thesis, Aberdeen Univ.Google Scholar
Abraham, G. E. 1969. Solid-phase radioimmunoassay of oestradiol-17 beta. J. din. Endocr. Metab. 29: 866–870.Google Scholar
Biomedical Computer Programs. 1981. Manual BMDP-81. University of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Colenbrander, B., Wrel, D. F. M., De, Van and Wensing, C. J. G. 1980. Changes in serum FSH concentrations during fetal and pre-pubertal development in pigs. Vlth int. Congr. Endocr., Abstr. No. 37.Google Scholar
Deligeorgis, S. G., English, P. R., Lodge, G. A. and Foxcroft, G. R. 1984. Comparison of two methods for evaluating reproductive development in prepubertal gilts. Anim. Prod. 38: 283–291.Google Scholar
Elsaesser, F. 1982. Endocrine control of sexual maturation in the female pig and sexual differentiation of the stimulatory oestrogen feedback mechanism. In Control of Pig Reproduction (ed. Cole, D. J. A. and Foxcroft, G. R.), pp. 93–116. Butterworth, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foxcroft, G. R. 1978. The development of pituitary gland function. In Control of Ovulation (ed. Crighton, D. B., Haynes, N. B., Foxcroft, G. R. and Lamming, G. E.), pp. 117–138. Butterworth, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foxcroft, G. R., Elsaesser, F., Stickney, K., Haynes, N. B. and Back, H. L. 1984. Ovarian oestrogen-dependent maturation of the LH/FSH surge mechanism during pubertal development in the gilt. J. Endocr. 101: 371–380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foxcroft, G. R., Pomerantz, D. K. and Nalbandov, A. V. 1975. Effects of estradiol-17β on LH-RH/FSH-RH-induced, and spontaneous, LH release in prepubertal female pigs. Endocrinology 96: 551–557.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galloway, D. B. and Pelletier, J. 1974. Influence of age on the pituitary response of male lambs to synthetic LH-RH injection. Hormone Metab. Res. 6: 240–241.Google Scholar
Hanrahan, J. P., Quirke, J. F. and Gosling, J. P. 1981. Effect of lamb age, breed and sex on plasma LH after administration of GnRH. J. Reprod. Fert. 61: 281–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hughes, P. E. 1982. Factors affecting the natural attainment of puberty in the gilt. In Control of Pig Reproduction (ed. Cole, D. J. A. and Foxcroft, G. R.), pp. 117–138. Butterworth, London.Google Scholar
Kempster, A. J. and Evans, D. G. 1979. A comparison of different predictors of the lean content of pig carcasses. I. Predictors for use in commercial classification and grading. Anim. Prod. 28: 87–96.Google Scholar
Land, R. B. 1974. Physiological studies and genetic selection for sheep fertility. Anim. Breed. Abstr. 42: 155–158.Google Scholar
Revelle, T. J. and Robison, O. W. 1973. An explanation for the low heritability of litter size in swine. J. Anim. Sci. 37: 668–675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vom Saal, F. S. 1981. Variation in phenotype due to random intrauterine positioning of male and female fetuses in rodents. J. Reprod. Fert. 62: 633–650.Google Scholar