Supplementation of l-arginine in pregnant gilts affects the protein abundance of DNMT1 in 35-day fetuses.

Maternal nutrition is one of the main environmental factors regulating gene expression during fetal development through epigenetic modifications. Some nutrients, such as the amino acid l-arginine, are added to maternal diets to modulate gene expression, improve the reproductive performance of females, and enhance conceptus development. This study investigated the hypothesis that supplementation of pregnant gilts with l-arginine regulates gene expression in conceptuses through epigenetic mechanisms.

Genes expression and phenotypic differences in corpus luteum and cumulus cells of commercial line and piau breed gilts.

We aimed to characterize the expression of angiogenesis-related genes in corpus luteum (CL) and cumulus cells (CC) during estrous cycle in gilts of different genetic groups, as well as to study the relation between gene expression and phenotypic data. Forty five gilts were used as follows: L1, Commercial Line 1 (Large White x Landrace x Duroc) (n = 15); L2, Commercial Line 2 (Large White x Landrace x Pietrain) (n = 15); and Piau, Piau breed gilts (n = 15). Estrus observation started from 120 days of age.

Can scrotal circumference-based selection discard bulls with good productive and reproductive potential?

Nonlinear mixed models were used to describe longitudinal scrotal circumference (SC) measurements of Nellore bulls. Models comparisons were based on Akaike's information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, error sum of squares, adjusted R2 and percentage of convergence. Sequentially, the best model was used to compare the SC growth curve in bulls divergently classified according to SC at 18-21 months of age.

Aspects of sexual precocity and morphometry of uterus, placenta and embryos/fetuses in Piau breed and Commercial line gilts.

In view of the importance of the genetic material of local breeds in the swine industry and the lack of information about reproductive performance of Piau females, two experiments were conducted to evaluate puberty and sexual maturity as well as the morphometry of embryos/fetuses, placenta and uterus during the first 90 days of gestation in Piau breed and Commercial line gilts. In experiment I, 37 Piau and 25 commercial line gilts were used. From the 120 days of age, detection of estrus was performed using mature boars from the first to third estrus of each gilt.