Impact of dietary supplementation of L-citrulline to meat goats during gestation on reproductive performance.

Background: Meat goat production is a worldwide industry with products such as meat, milk, soap, and fiber being produced. There are approximately 2.6 million meat goats in the United States.

Exogenous Progesterone Supplementation: A Strategy to Enhance Conceptus Development in Sheep and Pigs?

The inability of animals to get pregnant, pregnancy loss, and weak or stillborn offspring are significant economic burdens to livestock producers worldwide. Progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy, has a crucial role in the establishment of pregnancy and it has been suggested that progesterone supplementation may be a promising strategy to improve pregnancy outcomes and conceptus development. This review article describes the existing literature on progesterone supplementation in sheep and pigs in relation to pregnancy outcomes and conceptus development.

The structure of the porcine uterine-conceptus interface is associated with gestational day, fetal size and sex.

This study aimed to characterize histological changes of the maternal-conceptus interface in feto-placental units associated with fetal weight and sex throughout pregnancy. Pregnant Large-White X Landrace gilts(n=18) were euthanized and hysterectomized on gestational days[GDs] 30(n=3), 45(n=5), 60(n=5), and 90(n=5). Intact cross-sections of fetoplacental interface associated with the lightest[LW] and normally-grown[NW] littermates were collected on GD30(n=4 per size).

Progesterone regulates tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) expression and activity in ovine utero-placental tissues.

Background: Tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP; encoded by the ALPL gene) has a critical role in the postnatal regulation of phosphate homeostasis, yet how TNSALP activity and expression are regulated during pregnancy remain largely unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that progesterone (P4) and/or interferon tau (IFNT) regulate TNSALP activity during pregnancy in sheep.

Methods: In Exp.