title: Effects of pre- and post-mating feed intake on blastocyst size, secretory function and glucose metabolism in meishan gilts.
abstract: This experiment was designed to determine the effects of a nutritional regime, known to increase embryo survival, on blastocyst development and function. Day 12 blastocysts were recovered from Meishan gilts allocated in a 2x2 factorial design to receive either a high or a maintenance diet before or after mating (n = 4-6 gilts per group). The post-mating diet had no effect on individual blastocyst size, cell number, secretion of oestradiol-17beta or retinol binding protein, glucose metabolism or on the within-litter variability in these measures. Blastocysts recovered from gilts consuming the high pre-mating diet had more cells (13.501 v. 13.006 log cells; SED = 0.23; P = 0.05), greater production of CO2 from glucose (2.19 v. 1.23 log pmol(-1) blastocyst(-1) 3 h(-1), SED = 0.42; P = 0.05) and a lower within-litter standard deviation in blastocyst surface area (0.66 v. 1.18 log mm2, SED = 0.24; P = 0.04) compared with gilts fed the maintenance pre-mating diet. Collectively, these data suggest that a nutritional strategy that increases embryo survival is also associated with an increase in individual blastocyst cell number and reduced within-litter variability in blastocyst size.
authors.affiliation: Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, UK. c.ashworth@ab.sac.ac.uk
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ashworth
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Beattie
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Antipatis
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vallet
mesh_terms: D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000378:metabolism; D048429:Cell Size; D004435:Eating; D004958:Estradiol / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D005313:Fetal Death; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D013552:Swine / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D004958:Estradiol; D005947:Glucose