Effects of feeding endophyte-infected fescue seed on reproductive traits of male mice divergently selected for resistance or susceptibility to fescue toxicosis.
Our objective was to determine whether consumption of endophyte-infected fescue seed affected male reproduction differently in a mouse line previously selected for susceptibility (S) to fescue toxicosis than in a line previously selected for fescue toxicosis resistance (R). For 8 weeks following weaning, 48 males per line were provided diets containing 50% of either endophyte-infected (E+) or endophyte-free (E-) fescue seed. Each male was then paired with a female for 1 week, with litter size and weight recorded from subsequent births. Males were then killed, testes and seminal vesicles were weighed, cauda epididymal sperm were collected and testis cross-sections were fixed. The E+ diet reduced litter size by 0.5 in mates of S males but increased it by 1.0 in mates of R males (line by diet interaction P=0.05). Testis traits were not affected by diet or the line by diet interaction. Sperm integrity was adversely affected by the E+ diet (P<0.01) but did not differ significantly between lines, nor were line by diet interactions important. In earlier work, the E+ diet reduced long-term reproduction by a larger amount in S- than in R-line mated pairs. Because the E+ diet had similar effects on reproductive traits in R and S males in the current experiment, we infer that the differential impact previously reported acted primarily through traits expressed in females.
Ross
Megan K
MK
Animal and Poultry Sciences Department, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061-0306, USA.
Hohenboken
William D
WD
Saacke
Richard G
RG
Kuehn
Larry A
LA
D000818:Animals; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000378:metabolism*; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D031751:Festuca / Q000382:microbiology*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D008098:Litter Size; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009183:Mycotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D012098:Reproduction; D012639:Seeds / Q000382:microbiology*; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000502:physiology; D013737:Testis / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D015430:Weight Gain
D009183:Mycotoxins