Annual/Termination Reports:

[09/05/2012] [09/10/2013] [09/16/2014] [09/08/2015] [09/29/2016]

Report Information

Participants

Alexander, Brenda University of Wyoming
Ashley, Ryan New Mexico State University
Bridges, Allen University of Minnesota
Cupp, Andrea University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Davis, Tracy University of Idaho
Ford, Stephen University of Wyoming
Geary, Tom USDA-ARS Montana
Govoni, Kristen University of Connecticut
Hallford, Dennis New Mexico State University
Hansen, Tod Colorado State University
Hess, Bret University of Wyoming
Long, Nathan University of Arizona
Nett, Terry Colorado State University
Randel, Ron Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center
Shipka, Milan University of Alaska
Stevens, John Utah State University
Teglas, Mike University of Nevada-Reno
Vonnahme, Kim North Dakota State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

8:00 am Chair Tracy Davis called the meeting to order. Per the renewal of our project, the official number of our meeting is W2112. Secretary is Kimberly Vonnahme, and Member at Large is Ryan Ashley.

Members introduced themselves. Special welcome to our new members: Allen Bridges, Kristin Govoni, Nathan Long, Bret Hess (administrator)

A big congratulations to Dr. Ron Randel for being the 2012 recipient of the L.E. Casida Award at the National ASAS meeting.
8:15 am There was a phone conference call with Mark Mirando. Briefly, Dr. Ramaswamy was appointed as the Director of NIFA on May 7, 2012. The US budget appropriations for AFRI funding, Higher Education Grants and Smith-Lever grant funding was discussed. Mandatory and endowment funding are subject to reauthorization within the Farm Bill. For competitive programs, Foundational programs will have FY 2012-2013 combined and RFA is expected to be released August 15, 2012. The reported decline in the last funding cycles success rate was due to the decrease in the budget as well as the increase in total allowable budget (ie. $350K to $500K in budget ceiling for the grants). There will be an increase in the allowable indirect costs from 22% to 30%.

The USDA-NIH Dual purpose grant proposals have been reviewed and funding decisions should be made in the near future. September 20, 2012 is the new application deadline.

Mark will forward the email address for members to encourage that the NIH-USDA Dual Purpose continues if that is our desire.

There was a stakeholder workshop in Baltimore (March 2011) as well as a ARFI Stakeholder Listening Session in DC on Feb 22, 2012.

Questions from the floor: Foundational grants: Will the cap still be $500K? Answer: Not sure what will be in the RFA. With a $500K cap, direct costs will be $40,000 less with the 30% IDC. This increase in IDC basically results in one less grant being funded.
Ecology and infectious diseases: Is this a new program? Answer: NIFA just started to participate in this program.

8:30 am Mike Teglas moved to approve the minutes; Brenda Alexander seconded the motion. Motion passed unanimously.

Brenda Alexander nominated Mike Teglas for a new member at large. Members voted unanimously in favor, and Mike is our new member at large.

8:35 am New Business: Each station gave updates on what is new at their home institutions/departments.

NMSU: There is the potential for a new reproduction position in the future. Milt Thomas has accepted a position at Colorado State University.
Texas A&M: Possible new reproduction position may be open in the future. Tom Spencer has accepted a position at Washington State University.
Utah State: College of Ag has built a new facility that houses animal, veterinary and dairy sciences, it is proposed that a new USDA-ARS facility will be built nearby. A new vet med collaboration between Utah State and Washington State has been established with students starting their studies at Utah State and finish at WSU.
USDA Miles City: Mike McNeil has retired and there may be an advertisement to refill his position.
University of MN: Jon Wheaton is retiring. Allen Bridges is our new member from UM. There is the possibility that a new reproduction position will be advertised in the future. There is a possibility of 2 100% extension positions in the future (reproduction at Grand Rapids and feedlot at UM).
University of Wyoming: Governor has announced that there will be an 8% budget cut for the University of Wyoming. Min Du and Meijun Zhu from the Department of Animal Science have left to accept positions at Washington State University. There is hope that these positions will be filled in the future. Bill Murdoch has announced that he will retire next summer. Bob Stobbart will also be retiring.
University of Alaska: The School of Natural Resources has been placed on financial probation, and the Dean and Director is retiring. Extension is in good shape. Ag economics position will be coming open.
University of NV-Reno: Extension budget was cut in half. Currently, there is an animal nutritionist position (emphasis in range) open in the Department. There are plans to advertise a nutritional-epidemiologist sometime in the near future.
UCONN: Department Head of Animal Sciences, Dan Fletcher, has retired and Steve Zinn is the interim department head. Three new positions have been hired-- Functional genomics, equine position, and new lecturer (100% teaching). There is a new president at the university who has the intention of hiring 250 new faculty positions over the next 4 years. It is hoped that Animal Science will secure some of those positions.
University of AZ: The Department Head has accepted the position as the Ag Experiment Station Director. There is some discussion to combine the Animal Sciences Department with Veterinary and Microbiological Sciences.
North Dakota State University: Dr. Gerald Stokka has been hired in a livestock stewardship position. A new Beef Cattle Research Center is now open. Dave Buchanan has accepted the position as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs within the College of Ag.
University of Idaho: There are 2 Beef extension positions and a veterinarian position open. Town of Moscow will be rezoned which may run through the dairy facility. There is a potential for new facilities.
Colorado State: There is a new department head, Kevin Pond, at Animal Sciences; Milt Thomas, chair in animal genetics and member of ARBL: ARBLcrosses over to Animal Sciences. The position for the Alexander endowed chair will open. The equine reproduction lab burned. Redesigning the equine building is underway.
University of Nebraska: There is an expectation that the student enrollment needs to get to 30,000. In order to support that many students, there will need to be an increase in resources for classes, namely lab classes. UNL is now in the process of searching for extension dean. Archie Clutter is the new Research Dean. New vice chancellor is Ronnie Green. Animal Science just had a departmental review and it is recommended that a stem cell/epidemiologist position and a stress physiology position be added.

9:15 Comments from Bret Hess, Administrative Advisor
Midterm review (this is in response in the review of the renewal of the project)
1) Be sure to demonstrate collaboration within the group.
2) Accomplishments, make sure we follow our listed objectives; remember to meet our milestones. This includes completing the estrous synchronization handbook. This should be completed by the midterm review.
3) Annual report: distill the highlights. Report our outcomes (i.e. a change in knowledge, skills and abilities) and impacts (i.e. how this impacts society, fill in knowledge gaps).
4) Reminder that the increase in indirect costs (IDC) are now 30%, which means that the modified indirect rate is now 42.86% to direct costs.

Experiment station directors: Currently Bret Hess is the only animal scientist. Soon, there will be 2 additional (AK and AZ). We voted to have Milan Shipka serve as the W2112 administrative advisor.

We have 60 days to get the report done and submitted.

9:30: nominations for the 2013 meeting:
Fargo
Bozemanwith the WSASAS
Anchorage
Overton, Texas

9:40 Station Reports (NMSU, UW, CSU, USDA-Miles City, U of MN, Texas, U of AK, Utah State, UNR, see below)

5:00 pm Adjourn for the day

Friday, June 1, 2012

7:00 am Breakfast in Valley View 1734

8:00 am Tracy Davis called the meeting to order. Bret Hess will distribute a request for further reports from members that did not submit a report. These will be due on June 15th.

Continued station reports (UNL, UCONN, Univ of AZ, NDSU, Univ of Idaho; see below)

11:00 am Discussion of collaborative plans for 2012-2113

Nebraska & Washington: Dept of Health & Human Services grant 2009-2011. Joint publication has been submitted and submission of NIH RO1 grant June 15 titled Role of VEGFA Isoforms on Spermatogonial Stem Cell Renewal.

Idaho & CSU: Evaluate enhanced luteal function on conceptus length and IFNT production in lactating dairy cows.

Idaho & Colorado: Use of next generation of sequencing using isolated gonadotropes.

Idaho & Colorado: Adenoviral delivery of dominant negative dynamin into the ovine pituitary and the effects of estradiol release on LH release.

Colorado & Idaho: RIA for IFNt and Colorado providing reagents for RIA to Idaho.

Wyoming, Colorado, Hawaii, & Texas: Continue to analyze the data from the PGE project and write manuscripts.

New Mexico & Arizona: Develop an assay to evaluate progesterone receptors in mitochondria.

Colorado & Wyoming Project: Develop a more efficient and cost effective method to synchronize estrus in cattle.

Arizona & New Mexico: Share data about stress response and impact on placental factors and implantation.

Arizona & Florida: Share data from microarray of bovine blastocysts and trophoblast cell line.

Arizona & Wyoming: Insulin secretion in isolated pancreatic islet cells.

Arizona & Colorado: Evaluate vascularization of pancreatic islets.

New Mexico & Florida: Share bovine trophoblast cell line and compare genomic data obtained from bovine placenta and endometrium.

Montana (Miles City), Michigan, & Missouri: Investigate expression of cathepsin, inhibin, and follistatin expression in bovine follicles related to the role of follicle size at the time of ovulation on establishment and maintenance of pregnancy.

Montana (Miles City), South Dakota, Missouri, & Washington: Investigate the role of estradiol on pregnancy establishment and uterine expression in ovariectomized cows and intact heifers.

Florida & Nebraska: Examine VEGF in bovine endometrium and placenta.

Florida & Washington: Effect of inhibiting FGF in reproductive tract during early pregnancy in cattle.

New Mexico & Montana: Metabolic hormone patterns in ewe lambs with differing RFIs.

New Mexico & Colorado: Nutrient restriction vs. metabolic hormone patterns.

New Mexico & Colorado: Thyroid involvement in BVD infected cows.

New Mexico & Arkansas: Metabolic hormone profiles in cows consuming endophyte infected fescue.

New Mexico & Ohio: Follicular fluid IGF.

Wyoming & Montana: Meta-analysis of birth type on ewe reproductive performance.

Colorado & Ohio: ISG mRNAs in maternal blood and IFNt in conceptus.

Colorado & Washington: Use of mouse ISG15 knockout model to understand the role of ISG15 in bovine uterus.

Michigan & Florida: Extended oocyte/embryo culture.

Ohio & Pennsylvania: Role of MX and IFNt in cattle.

Arkansas & New Mexico: Pasture systems and reproduction.

UDSA-Miles City, Minnesota & Idaho: Effects of desoerlin on reproductive efficiency in beef cattle

CSU & NMSU: Maternal T3 and T4 in cows carrying BVDV infected or control fetuses.

CSU and Texas A&M: Final validation of a IFNT RIA

NMSU & NDSU: Endocrine profiles during pregnancy and lactation in ewes

Texas & USDA-Miles City: Examine longitudinal data for heifer and feed efficiency on long term reproductive and productive characteristics.

Utah & CSU: Sharing and analyzing microarray data from CL from pregnant and nonpregnnat sheep

Utah and UW: DUD and high performing ram data analyses

USDA-Miles City & Washington: identification of fertility markers in beef cattle

USDA-Miles City, Ohio, Idaho, & MN: Role of progesterone in determining oocyte competence and use of GnRH agonists in manipulating progesterone to improve fertility in beef and dairy cows.

Ohio, USDA-Miles City, Idaho, & MN: Estrous synchronization projects and re-writing of Estrous Synchronization Handbook in cattle

NMSU & USDA-Miles City: Progesterone receptor in the uterus

NE & MN: Link between obesity-oocyte quality

UCONN & NE: Collaboration on an obesity model and bone development

UCONN & NDSU: somatotropic axis and fetal development

WY & AK: Look at cortisol in reindeer

NDSU & USDA-Miles City: Doppler blood flow in cattle


It was moved and seconded that the 2013 meeting of W2112 be at Miles City (USDA-ARS). Majority voted to have meeting at Miles City.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Examine molecular, metabolic, genomic, endocrine, and immunologic mechanisms influencing testicular and ovarian function, reproductive behavior, conception rate, embryo and fetal development, attainment of puberty, and effects of climate/season on reproductive patterns of domestic ruminants.<br /> <br /> 1. During early gestation in ewes, CXCL12, CXCR4, and select angiogenic factors and their receptors are elevated in fetal extraembryonic membranes and maternal caruncles, underscoring the possible involvement of this chemokine system in placentation.<br /> 2. Numerous tissue-specific alterations in ovine MPR expression occur during early pregnancy, which correlates with rising P4 levels and when fetal-maternal placental interactions are established.<br /> 3. IFNT protects early pregnancy in ruminants through paracrine action on the endometrium and also through endocrine action on the CL and peripheral blood cells in context of enhancing luteal resistance to PGF and the maternal ability to combat viral infections, respectively. <br /> 4. ISG15, Bcl-XL, Akt, and XIAP mRNAs are up regulated within 24 h in response to roIFNT treatment of isolated small, large and mixed luteal cells, and this induction is independent of the actions of PGE2, OXT and PGF. These results are similar to the results obtained in previous in vivo studies using osmotic infusion of roIFNT into the uterine vein of ewes. Endocrine action of IFNT might entail up regulation of ISGs as well as cell survival genes to assist with providing resistance of the CL to PGF, but also in longer-term resilience in context of continued production of progesterone. <br /> 5. Knockdown of SLC7A1 attenuated conceptus growth and development, whereas knockdown of NOS3 and ODC1 only partially suppresses conceptus development. This is likely due to compensatory effects of NOS1/NOS2, other cationic amino acid transporters and production of putrescine via the arginine decarboxylase and agmatinase biochemical pathway to support conceptus development.<br /> 6. TLR7 and TLR8 knock down conceptuses were developmentally retarded. Knock down of TLR7 and TLR8 also impairs release of IFNT in uterine flushings (P<0.01).<br /> 7. 5. Transmission electron microscopy revealed degenerative and necrotic changes in murine anti-mesometrial decidual cells and trophoblast cells at 7.5 dpc; however the decidualization responses and embryos appeared normal at this time. ISG15 is expressed in multiple species such as bovine, ovine, human and mouse that have divergent forms of implantation. ISG15 functions in vascular development; and immunomodulation. The high incidence of embryo mortality in Isg15-/- mice suggests that ISG15 plays an important role in uterus:conceptus communication during implantation, which may also extend to function in ruminants.<br /> 8. Persistent infection with BVDV impairs tissue level but not cell level bone formation. Abnormal trabecular modeling is secondary to reduced numbers of osteoclasts. The factors responsible for the periodicity of the transverse bands noted in PI femur are unknown but may be related to osteoclast generation times.<br /> 9. As a nuclear protein, we initially hypothesized that PRR15 might act as a co-regulator of transcription. However, our pull-down data coupled with recent localization studies identifying PRR15 in nuclear bodies suggest its mechanism of action is at the post-transcriptional level. Using shRNA infection of trophoblast cells we determined that diminished PRR15 expression impacted a number of pathways, consequently impacting trophoblast proliferation and apoptosis. Our recent results, as reported here, help explain the lethal phenotype we observed in sheep conceptuses infected with an shRNA that targeted PRR15 expression in the elongating sheep conceptus.<br /> 10. The pluripotency factor Lin28 is expressed in the early sheep conceptus, and the relative expression pattern of Lin28A and Lin28B differ, suggesting that these two RNA binding proteins may have distinct functions in the developing placenta. Initial attempts to diminish the mRNA concentration of Lin28B in the sheep conceptus was not successful, but has led us to the design and testing of new targeting vectors which will enhance our ability to alter gene expression in the ruminant placenta.<br /> 11. We continue to examine the impact of maternal undernutrition during twin pregnancies on fetal development and postnatal growth. Our recent studies indicate that maternal Ghrelin is altered by undernutrition, as we reported for fetal Ghrelin concentrations last year. The elevated maternal Ghrelin was not diminished following realimentation at mid-gestation, and carried out into the postnatal period, suggesting long-term impacts on maternal metabolism and appetite. Since multi-fetation is the norm in production flocks, examining the impact of nutritional imbalances during pregnancy will provide better insight to the impact maternal/fetal programming in a production setting.<br /> 12. Temperamental calves have greater stress hormone concentrations at or near weaning than calmer herdmates. Temperament did not affect concentrations of immunoglobulins but sex of calf does with steers having higher concentrations than intact bulls or heifers. Gender has an influence on circulating concentrations of stress hormones with heifers being greater than bulls.<br /> 13. Temperament at maturity in cows can affect birth weights of their male calves. Temperamental cows producing bull calves had lighter birth weight calves than did calmer herdmates. <br /> 14. Selection of replacement females for residual feed intake or residual average daily gain does not affect birth weights of their calves.<br /> 15. Longer duration transport (24 hours) increased shrink in body weight more than shorter (5.5 hours) transport but feeding behavior and performance were not different.<br /> 16. Calves mobilize intramuscular fat during transportation and the quantity of intramuscular fat was diminished for up to 28 days after transportation.<br /> 17. A statistical framework was developed to use gene expression data to identify Gene Ontology biological process terms with significantly different activity profiles across multiple embryonic developmental stages. While motivated by an RNA-Seq experiment, the statistical framework can be applied to any gene expression platform.<br /> 18. The most important factors affecting fertility to GnRH induced timed AI were elevated serum estradiol concentration at the time of AI, elevated serum concentration of progesterone on d 7, elevated serum concentration of progesterone on d -2, and ovulatory follicle size. Fertilization failure in cows receiving GnRH induced ovulation of single follicles was 10%. Young cows have greater fertilization success, but are less likely to maintain a pregnancy than older cows. Evaluation of serum estradiol concentration in a single blood sample collected at TAI is more valuable as an indicator of a cows fertility than measure of serum concentration of progesterone in two blood samples collected before synchronization. Age of the ovulatory follicle (between 8 to 13 d old) did not affect pregnancy rates.<br /> 19. Cows that received GnRH induced timed AI without an increase in serum estradiol concentration develop embryos that are less capable of establishing a pregnancy (preventing luteolysis around d 17 based on IFN stimulated gene expression) and incapable of maintaining pregnancy to d 30 of gestation. With synchronization programs that use estrous detection and AI for a period before timed AI of remaining heifers my result in improved pregnancy rates among timed AI cows by adding an estradiol treatment at timed AI.<br /> 20. Body condition score of superstimulated embryo donor cows impacted various aspects of embryos recovered. Embryos recovered from cows with a body condition score of 6 tended to be advanced in stage of embryo development and total number of grade 1 and 2 embryos collected per cow also tended to be increased. In addition, embryo donors with a body condition score of 6 yielded increased numbers of transferable embryos per cow than did embryo donors with a body condition score of 4.<br /> 21. Although increasing body condition score of the embryo recipient increased the diameter of the ovulatory follicle induced to ovulate prior to embryo transfer and resulted in a larger CL that produced greater concentrations of progesterone, such follicular and endocrine differences were not reflected in different pregnancy rates between embryo recipients in either a body condition score 4 or 6. Moreover, body condition score of the embryo donor did not impact probability of pregnancy establishment.<br /> 22. Feeding DG at 1.2% of BW per day to first-parity heifers during the third trimester of pregnancy appeared to elicit some degree of developmental programming to female offspring. Heifer calves from pregnant females receiving high amounts of distillers grains were heavier at weaning, had greater skeletal growth and were heavier at onset of puberty. In addition, AI pregnancy rates were increased, but limited numbers of heifers in this study limits conclusions that can be made from this categorical variable.<br /> 23. Understanding these mechanisms and ultimately their potential impact on blastocyst survival, fetal development and calf growth are important to breeding management of reindeer, especially if techniques like artificial insemination are to be applied. <br /> 24. The impact of the timing of breeding on gestation length, pregnany rate, calf sex, calf birth weight, and calf survival all have important implications on the successful management of muskoxen in captivity. <br /> 25. The protective effect against subsequent infections in cattle following an abortion due to EBA appears to last up to 2 years following an abortion, then abruptly stops without continued exposure to the pathogen.<br /> 26. Infection with the agent of EBA stimulates a mild hematologic response characterized by leukocytopenia, lymphocytopenia and monocytosis early (week 1) and late (week 14) in infection but leukocyte cell numbers do not rise or fall beyond what are considered normal parameters for pregnant cattle.<br /> 27. The bacterial pathogen that causes EBA cannot be detected by molecular methods in the circulating blood of infected heifers during the entire course of infection.<br /> 28. We have made significant strides in understanding the specific implications of maternal obesity on offspring health, growth efficiency, glucose-insulin dynamics and reproductive function. Results from these studies shed light on the specific physiological mechanisms involved, as well as lead us to management practices to optimize offspring health and production efficiency. These studies provide strong evidence that the optimization of maternal nutrition and the associated uterine environment will contribute to the birth of healthy, growth-efficient offspring, which is vital to livestock production efficiency. <br /> 29. The expression of male reproductive behavior is essential for the continuation of most species, but is of particular importance in the sheep industry where the use of artificial insemination is limited. A robust sexual response to the presence of an ovulating female is the first step to species survival. Among males, expression of sexual behavior is a continuum that includes males that lack sexual interest and those that show exuberant sexual interest in other males. We have reported evidence that in multi-sire flocks rams siring higher than expected numbers of lambs made up 23  29% of the ram population but sired from 39.4 to 70% of the lamb crop. Low performing rams (23  43% of the ram population) sired from 3.2 to 16.2% of the lamb crop. We are using cellular techniques which will help identify neural processes which differ among male oriented and female oriented rams which express either high or low levels of reproductive behavior. <br /> 30. Female oriented rams appear to process sexually evocative olfactory stimuli differently than rams lacking sexual interest which may help explain the absence of sexual behavior in rams categorized as asexual. <br /> 31. The differential expression of dopamine synthesizing enzymes in sexually active and non-active rams may reflect the dichotomous role of dopamine in the expression of sexual behavior.<br /> 32. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may benefit sheep producers in the calculation of molecular breeding values (MBV). Initial analyses of many production traits revealed significant SNPs on OAR4 with average daily gain, staple length, wool grade, and fleece weight. Refinement of these associations is now in process.<br /> 33. Increased glucocorticoids during gestation reduced HPA axis activity, but increased baseline activity in female offspring and this effect is carried over into a subsequent generation.<br /> 34. Maternal obesity increased expression of adipogenic factors (PPAR ³ and AP2) and 11²SDH1 (an enzyme that controls local availability of cortisol) in perirenal, and subcutaneous adipose tissue. There were depot specific effects for LPL, a marker of adipose maturity. Angiogenic factors were decreased in obese vs control fetuses in perirenal and increased in subcutaneous adipose.<br /> 35. Maternal obesity-induced alterations in maternal and fetal glucose-insulin dynamics and fetal adiposity can be alleviated by early maternal dietary intervention.<br /> 36. Differential expression of genes relevant to sodium, potassium and calcium transport may underlie functional changes in fetal hearts caused by maternal obesity.<br /> 37. Maternal obesity leads to increased appetite and adiposity that is associated with increased adipocyte diameters and increased rate of fatty acid synthesis in overnourished adult male offspring.<br /> 38. Increased adiposity of adult male offspring from obese mothers is associated with decreased leptin receptor expression by GH secreting pituitary cells in association with increased expression of pituitary PPAR-³, leading to decreased GH secretion and reduced expression of liver IGF-1. <br /> 39. Although prolonged decreases in maternal uteroplacental blood flow may contribute to maternal caused fetal growth restriction at midgestation in nutrient-restricted ewes, large conductance Ca+ dependent K+ channels (BKCa) expression in the uterine artery during the first half of pregnancy was similar in nutrient restricted and control ewes. Further studies of maternal nutrient restriction and uteroplacental blood flow are warranted.<br /> 40. Novel mouse lines where either VEGFA isoforms or the co-receptor to VEGFA angiogenic isoforms (Nrp-1) have been knocked out in granulosa or Sertoli cells have been generated to delineate the functions and necessity for appropriate balance of VEGFA isoforms in ovarian and testis development. The actions of these VEGFA isoforms appear to have dramatic impact on male and female reproduction if they are not in appropriate balance.<br /> 41. Loss of all VEGFA isoforms in Sertoli and some germ cells causes reduced fertility with smaller litter sizes and more days from mating to parturition and a greater amount of time from 1st parturition to 2nd parturition in heterozygotes.<br /> 42. Loss of VEGFA isoforms in granulosa cells causes reduced fertility with decreased litter size in heterozygote females and longer days from mating to 1st parturition and 1st parturition to 2nd even in heterozygote females. <br /> 43. Sertoli cells and deactivation of VEGFA angiogenic isoforms appears to have little effect on organ weights; however morphology of the testis is altered and genes critical for spermatogonial stem cell niche maintenance are dramatically reduced suggesting that too much anti-angiogenic isoform actions are detrimental to reproductive lifespan and male fertility.<br /> 44. Injection of VEGFA isoforms prior to spermatogonial stem cell niche establishment in a transient manner affects genes that are critical to apoptosis and spermatogonial stem cell homeostasis in the rat. Suggesting that altered VEGFA isoforms during development of the spermatogonial stem cell niche can influence early spermatogenesis.<br /> 45. Estrogen active follicles tend to have a greater ratio of VEGFA164 to VEGFA164b and a greater efficiency of conversion of A4to E2; while estrogen inactive follicle have greater mRNA abundance of VEGFA164b and are less efficient at converting A4 to E2. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between the antiangiogenic VEGFA isoform and BCL2 and AMH which play a role in regulating follicle development. Thus, the balance of VEGFA anti and proangiogenic isoforms may influence follicular development and atresia.<br /> 46. There appears to be a relationship between AFC and BW through the first breeding season and progeny calf BW. The low birth BW in heifers with low AFC and in their progeny continues to support a possible link between genes that influence growth and development and establishment of the ovarian reserve. Thus, cows with greater AFCs may also produce offspring with greater birth weights and growth traits. Selection for AFCs as well as other traits reproductive traits early may aid producers in determining females to remain in the breeding herd.<br /> 47. Male fertility is critical to many animal production systems. We have demonstrated that VEGFA isoforms are important in early testis development to establish the spermatogonial stem cell niche alterations in the balance of these isoforms do affect male fertility. Thus, manipulation of these VEGFA isoforms may be economically important to increase reproductive efficiency in males for producers. <br /> 48. Female fertility is equally important in animal production systems. In appropriate balance of VEGFA isoforms also appears to impair female fertility through altered follicle development and potentially numbers of follicles available on the ovary to ovulate. Thus, manipulation of VEGFA isoforms or being able to understand how we may use them as markers may dramatically impact producers and their ability to either increase reproductive efficiency or select for more fertile females.<br /> 49. The VEGFA164b isoform in cattle appears to be a marker for follicle status, and health. Furthermore, it is correlated with genes that regulate follicle development such as AMH and BCL2.<br /> 50. Poor maternal nutrition due to under-feeding during the last half of gestation negatively impacts fetal growth and development as demonstrated by reduced body weight and reduced circulating IGF-I and IGFBP-3.<br /> 51. Poor maternal nutrition due to under- and over-feeding may negatively impact metabolic status of offspring as early as birth, but altering leptin production and serum lipid concentrations. <br /> 52. We continue to determine methods or therapeutics to alleviate the negative impacts of IUGR in livestock.<br /> a. Melatonin work: It is determined that melatonin supplementation can increase umbilical blood flow in nutrient restricted ewes. Melatonin treatment partially improved uteroplacental amino acid flux in nutrient restricted ewes to the level of CON-ADQ ewes, which may be mediated via increased placental blood perfusion and/or placental amino acid transporter density. Maternal melatonin supplementation and nutrient restriction interacted to effect fetal cardiomyocyte enlargement, whereby melatonin supplementation during maternal nutrient restriction may reverse left ventricular cardiomyocyte enlargement. However, this effect was absent in the right ventricle, which may potentially alter offspring cardiovascular function and performance. <br /> b. Realimentation in beef cattle: It appears that nutrient restricted impacts vascular reactivity at the level of the placentomes (i.e. caruncle and cotyledonary arteries). Current work on uterine blood flow measurements are under analyses, however, umbilical blood flow to day 85 of gestation is not impacted by maternal nutrient restriction from day 30 to 85 in beef cows. Protein supplementation: Supplementing protein during the last third of gestation in ewes appears to have positive impacts on feedlot performance of wether lambs, while having limited impacts on carcass quality. <br /> 53. Chronic administration of GnRH agonist beginning day 3 when the CL is developing through day 15 of the estrous cycle enhances size of the CL which is correlated with circulating progesterone concentrations. Furthermore, co-dominant follicles form during the first follicular wave and most ovulated and formed accessory CL. Finally, timing of the removal of the GnRH agonist does not alter size of the ovulatory follicle or length of the estrous cycle.<br /> 54. Outward symptoms of bacterial meningitis in sheep infected with either S. aureus or A. pyogenes are correlated with major hormonal shifts, especially associated with the time of estrus when progesterone concentrations decline, prostaglandin F2alpha and estradiol concentrations increase.<br /> 55. The results of studies conducted during the past year demonstrate that estradiol and selected phytoestrogens dramatically affect basal and GnRH-induced gonadotropin secretion from ovine pituitary cells in culture. Collectively these data suggest that phyto- and xeno-estrogens may influence the reproductive potential of domestic animals.<br /> 56. The results of studies conducted during the past year demonstrate that the PRAME/PRAMEY gene family is essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility. The gene family amplified in Eutheria and was transposed to the bovid Y chromosome during evolution, indicating that this gene family is even more important in male reproduction in bovid lineage. Characterization of the Y chromosome sequence, organization, and gene content provides not only important comparative mapping information for studying Y chromosome biology and evolution, but also male-specific genetic markers that will allow us to identify high and low fertility bulls in a sire selection program. Elimination of sires with genetic defects associated with reduced fertility at an earlier age will reduce overall maintenance costs for poor quality yearling and mature sires prior to breeding.<br /> 57. Investigation of the role of the CART peptide in regulation of follicular development may ultimately lead to development of new technologies to manipulate the follicular selection process in cattle and potentially enhance efficiency of superovulation.<br /> 58. Investigation of the role of oocyte-derived follistatin in early embryogenesis support the utility of follistatin treatment as a potential tool to increase efficiency of in vitro embryo production and embryo quality and provide a viable platform to aid studies of the contribution of poor oocyte quality to infertility in cattle in a production setting.<br /> 59. EP4 receptors may be involved in preventing luteal regression to permit establishment of pregnancy. SIRT-1 (located in the nucleus) may be involved in regulating PGE synthesis by ovine caruncles. <br /> 60. The development of a hypothalamic structural atlas will support future studies by enabling others to identify specific centers in sections of interest, thereby reducing the total amount of antibodies and reagents needed to examine the immunocytochemical expression of specific neuropeptides of these centers. The ability to identify key structures such as the arcute nucleus based on histo-structure shows the utility of this atlas. The long-term goal of this research is to determine the physiological pathway whereby pheromones of ruminant males induce changes in the hypothalamic kisspeptin-GnRH system that accelerated the onset of the breeding season in sheep and other seasonally breeding mammals and resumption of ovulatory activity in postpartum, suckling cows.<br /> 61. During early pregnancy in the mouse, the corticosterone biosynthetic enzyme HSD11B1 is up-regulated in response to the implanting embryo. Implications are that the embryo establishes a glucocorticoid barrier around the embryo that may serve to: 1) modulate maternal immune function; 2) regulate nutrient availability; and 3) regulate trophoblast growth. Conditional deletion of the glucocorticoid receptor, Nr3c1, results in a subfertility phenotype that may derive from abnormal infiltration of immune cells. <br /> 62. Regeneration of the endometrium likely involves distinct mechanisms that include: 1) activation of a unique population of stem cells; and 2) mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition. <br /> 63. Tissues of the female reproductive tract abundantly express the E2A encoded product TCF3/E47. E2A is regulated by steroid (uterus) and gonadotropin (ovary) hormones in vivo.<br /> 64. Pgrmc1 plays an important role in female reproduction. Conditional deletion of this gene results in a subfertility phenotype stemming from disrupted folliculogenesis and formation of cystic structures in both the ovary and uterus that likely occur in response to aberrant cell cycle progression.<br /> 65. PGRMC1 is important for germ cell proliferation and completion of meiosis in males. The loss of PGRMC1 in proliferating germ cells results in a repetitive disruption of spermatogenesis due to altered cell cycling and accelerated germ cell differentiation. Pgrmc1 location on the X chromosome suggests it is a strong candidate for inherited male factor infertility.<br /> 66. Spermatogonial stem cells formed during neonatal life rapidly proliferate during the first weeks of life. The adult population of spermatogonial stem cells forms after puberty.<br /> 67. Testicular dysgenesis in alpaca and possibly other camelids is potentially associated with alteration of the formation of functional Leydig cells during puberty. High variance in the age of puberty in alpaca is associated with variation in testosterone production.<br /> 68. Prostaglandins are important regulators of conceptus elongation and mediators of endometrial responses to progesterone and IFNT in the ovine uterus. <br /> 69. Prostaglandins and IFNT from the conceptus coordinately regulate endometrial functions important for growth and development of the conceptus during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy.<br /> 70. IFNT and prostaglandins from the conceptus regulate endometrial HSD11B1 expression and activity that regenerates bioactive cortisol in the ovine uterus during early pregnancy to influence endometrial functions and conceptus elongation.<br /> 71. Feeding a high energy diet can advance some aspects of maturation in Holstein bulls. Technology to advance puberty and the age at which semen can be collected from bulls for use in AI has the potential to accelerate genetic improvement and take full advantage of genomic testing in AI sires.<br /> 72. In vitro methods to identify bull fertility would enhance reproductive efficiency and streamline methods for selection and identification of bull to use in AI. The use of heterospermic IVF was not an accurate method to predict competitiveness of different bulls in vivo when heterospermic insemination was performed. This finding suggests that alternatives to this approach to determine fertility of bulls for AI is necessary. <br /> 73. The lack of effect of follicle age on conception in beef cows and heifers provides crucial information to aid in development and refinement of estrous cycle control technologies. <br /> 74. Induction of puberty in Nelore heifers and reinitiation of estrous cycles in postpartum Nelore cows is essential to advance reproductive efficiency in this crucial breed to global beef production. Effective methods to achieve this end, and implement timed AI have the potential to substantially enhance the efficiency of beef production.<br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 2: Development and application of methodologies to improve animal health, well-being, and reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants in order to allow sustainable operation of production systems in the western United States. <br /> <br /> 1. Administering 5 or 10 mg of dexamethasone to ewes before breeding had no adverse effect on pregnancy rates and the 5-mg dosage may have actually been beneficial. <br /> 2. Use of a CIDR in combination with 500 IU PMSG effectively induced out-of-season cyclicity at 30 d postpartum in lactating anestrous Rambouillet ewes and approximately 37% of anestrous ewes bred to fertile rams lambed again in during the subsequent fall.<br /> 3. GnRH vaccination in elephants shows potential for contraception and management of uterine pathology in older elephants. <br /> 4. At least in elk, maternal antibodies to GnRH that are transferred to the offspring via colostrum do not have an impact on subsequent reproductive development of the offspring. Therefore, immunization against GnRH can be carried out irrespective of the physiological state of the female without concern for the normal development of her offspring. <br /> 5. Immunization against GnRH using GonaCon results in infertility up to three years following a single injection. In addition, immunized females show extended proreceptive behavior when exposed to males. <br /> 6. 12. Use of a conjugate prepared with a GnRH analog covalently linked to a recombinant pokeweed antiviral protein showed efficacy in reducing GnRH-induced LH release in mice and testis weight in mice. Such a compound may be effective for chemically sterilizing both males and females of a variety of species including domestic animals.<br /> 7. Feeding a yeast based supplement improves the acute phase response to an endotoxin challenge and increases availability of glucose which is required for the animal to respond to an endotoxin challenge. It is possible to feed a supplement before cattle are subjected to a stressor and improve their ability to cope with the stressor.<br /> 8. Spermatozoa characteristics of the ejaculate used to breed beef cattle may account for a significant percentage of pregnancy failures. <br /> 9. Uterine capacity for pregnancy was the primary limitation of fertility in a group of heifers identified with differential levels of fertility. Genomic wide analyses of difference between these heifers have revealed 7 markers associated with fertility in these heifers. <br /> 10. The 5-day CO-Synch + CIDR, PGF 6-day CIDR, and 14-day CIDR-PG protocols were all equally effective methods to synchronize ovulation in virgin beef heifers. Pubertal status at ovulation synchronization had the greatest impact on pregnancy success. <br /> 11. The aoEBA can be raised in vivo in SCID mice and infected cells produced in this manner can recreate the disease with clinical signs identical to those from infections using bacteria obtained from EBA aborted fetuses.<br /> 12. Infected cells from a murine source can be used as a whole bacteria vaccine with protective effects if injected into cattle prior to breeding. A dose dependent association appears to be correlated with early fetal loss in cattle previously sensitized to the aoEBA.<br /> 13. Increasing DDGS in the diet of rams did not have a negative impact on feedlot performance or carcass characteristics; however, in this preliminary study, sperm production may have been negatively affected, necessitating the need for additional research on the impact of distillers grains on ram development.<br /> 14. Development of technology to decrease injections and improve compliance for ovulation synchronization in dairy cattle has the potential to improve animal well being and increase reproductive efficiency. Intrauterine administration of GnRH is one potential method to achieve this end. <br />

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Advances were made in understanding how nutrition impacts fetal development, placental efficiency, heifer development, estrous cycles, development of more viable offspring.
2. Significant progress in understanding how behavior, exposure to male biostimulation, and disease may affect general overall health, feed and reproductive efficiency.
3. Selection for low residual feed intake (feed efficiency) would increase returns to producers by approximately $20 per cow which would be significant considering that nation s beef cow inventory is approximately 32 million head.
4. Temperament and stress-responsiveness traits may affect health status, cost of sustaining wellness, growth efficiency and ultimately product value.

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Report Information

Participants

Kim Vonnahme - North Dakota State University; Milan Shipka - University of Alaska; Caleb Lemley - Mississippi State University; Tom Geary - USDA-ARS Fort Keogh, Montana; Leticia Camacho North Dakota State University (Grad Student of Kim Vonnahme); Dennis Hallford - New Mexico State University; Mike Day - Ohio State University; Peter Sutovsky - University of Missouri; Phil Cardoso - University of Illinois; Kristin Govoni - University of Connecticut; Andy Roberts - USDA-ARS Fort Keogh, Montana; Alan Willmore - University of Idaho (Grad Student of Tracy Davis); Allen Bridges - University of Minnesota; Andrea Cupp - University of Nebraska; Ron Randall - Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center; Brenda Alexander - University of Wyoming; Ryan Ashley - New Mexico State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:

The Chair, Kim Vonnahme called the meeting to order at 8:00 am on Monday June 17, 2013. Kim asked for attendees to introduce themselves. Tom Geary also mentioned students from Fort Keogh who were attending.

Tom Geary discussed the meeting activities. A $35 per person fee for the lunch and dinner was announced and that on Tuesday morning (6-18-13), a tour of Ft. Keogh was planned. Kim mentioned the WSASAS meeting that started on 6-19-13 and requested that each researcher provide succinct station reports to ensure sufficient time for the tour and collaboration discussions on 6-18-13.

Kim asked for nominations for the 2014 meeting, which included Reno, Fargo, Fairbanks, Las Vegas, and Texas. It was approved to vote on the 2014 meeting location after station reports were completed. Kim announced that Ryan Ashley would be Chair next year. Kristin Govoni was appointed as the new Member at Large.

Milan commented that we need our impact statements for the W2112 on how our research and collaborations have impacted the people we serve not necessarily our own research. Milan asked us to provide potentially 6 impact statements reflecting how the W2112 group has supported and enhanced our clientele. Milan commented he would meet with Kim and Ryan to discuss the report.

Kim called Adele Turzillo for her report from Washington USDA headquarters. Adele commented she is in a new position (National Program Leader for Animal Production Systems, was appointed Director, Division of Animal Systems, effective April 8, 2013) and that she had emailed her documents to the group, which she then briefly summarized. Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy is the current Director of NIFA (appointed May 7, 2012). Dr. Deborah Sheely is the Assistant Director of the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability. NIFA had a ~18% cut to its programs as listed in Adeles Cornerstone report. HATCH funds should be restored back to 2012 levels. AFRI funds (flagship grant program) should get increase for 2014. Adele commented on The National Association for the Advancement of Animal Science that was formed. On May 17th an amendment was added to farm bill that establishes a new initiative (i.e., farm animal initiative agreement) to address critical needs and research for food security, relationships between human and animals. Adele commented several AFRI panels have met and basically waiting on final fund numbers to come in from budget office before they announce grants funded. Adele added that for Competitive programs, the maximum indirect cost rate (IDC) increased from 22-33% of total costs beginning FY 2012. Adele mentioned other funding opportunities. The Dual Purpose Dual Benefit in Biomedicine and Agriculture Using Agriculturally Important Domestic Species  NIH and NIFA have extended this joint program for an additional 3 years as PAR-13-204. The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease - Funding opportunity partnering NIFA, NSF, NIH, and the U.K.

The remainder of the afternoon was dedicated to station reports for Wyoming, Idaho, Texas, Montana, UConn, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota and Mississippi.

Voted on 2014 meeting location and dates. The majority approved the 2014 W2112 meeting to be held June 10th and 11th in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Kim Vonnahme adjourned meeting at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, 6-18-13

Kim Vonnahme called the meeting to order at 7:30 am.

Tom Geary provided a brief PowerPoint presentation on the history of Fort Keogh. A tour of a portion of the barns and facilities of Ft. Keogh followed.
Collaborative projects for 2013-2014 were discussed. Kim commented she had sent an email to the group with previous collaborations. We agreed to modify and send changes to Kim and Ryan to include in the report.

Milan commented we have 90 days to submit the report and we need to focus on providing ~6 impact statements that we could include. It was discussed among the group to put together a list and send to Ryan describing how we are achieving the milestones listed in the project. Specifically, presentations to various producers are needed so we can document how we have and continue to serve our clientele. Kim and Ryan will combine from all the W2112 members and include in the report.

The rest of the morning focused on developing our Impact Statements to include in the report as well as some of the outputs from the W2112 project. Specific outputs discussed were:

1) Reviewed current status of estrous synchronization handbook by end of 2013. Will put on websites (e.g., Ag Experiment Station Websites).
2) Efforts underway to identify speakers to talk at next ruminant BIF.
3) Maybe do a review (JAS) about fetal programming based on work from the W2112 group. Include a history of W2112. This will probably be discussed next year.
4) Kim will get in touch with Teglas about the milestone concerning the vaccine (this was one of the milestones listed).

Allen Bridges suggested putting together the estrous synch manual and distribute through BIF. Tom Geary said he will contact BIF and Allen offered to help. The group discussed the possibility of building of a series of webinars and doing this through ASAS. Kim and Andrea said they would contact Megan at ASAS regarding the webinars, which might fit with ASAS. Symposia suggestions for ASAS were also discussed. A fetal programming symposium was suggested as many in the W2112 have research related. Attendees were encouraged to think of other areas that W2112 could address to use as symposia suggestions. These will probably be included in our next submission for the W2112 project submitted January of 2016. It was suggested to appoint a re-write committee next year in Fairbanks.

Potential Impacts were discussed. Kim asked for small groups to get together and draft impact statements. A number of drafts were considered and many in the group provided hard copies and/or emailed to Kim and Ryan for inclusion in the report. We narrowed the statements down to the following with the understanding that edits will be made before inclusion into the final report:

1) Demonstrated that with management and genetic selection, Bos indicus females are capable of calving at 2 years of age versus 3 years of age. This will save ~$500 per heifer for the producer and increases life time economic efficiency 6-10%.

2) Prenatal stress (stress to the pregnant female) reduces profitability of the calves due to increased temperamental dispositions and reduced response to vaccination. The value of these calves is reduced by at least 10% from the value of unstressed calves.

3) Collaborative efforts allowed rapid treatment of spermatozoa with magnetic nano-particles to remove defective spermatozoa and allow equal and high pregnancy rates with 50% reduction of the sperm dose used with artificial insemination in cattle. This allows production of twice the number of semen doses per ejaculate for dissemination of superior genetics. This effort also impacts human assisted reproductive therapies, wherein sperm quality biomarkers can be used for accurate diagnosis of male infertility and clinician decision making.

4) Multistate, institutional, and investigator approach towards the reduction in average date of conception rate in the breeding season by 10-15% in beef cattle through the development of improved estrous synchronization approaches that has increased the reproductive efficiency and production profitability of beef cattle production systems.

5) Enhanced the understanding of how phenotypical, physiology, and endocrine characteristics, including antral follicle count, growth rate and efficiency, follicular growth patterns, stress response, and estrous expression impacts on reproductive competence.

6) Determined influence of endocrine environment during follicular development on oocyte competence to translate to improved methods of estrous synchronization, multiple ovulation protocols, and in vitro embryo production.

Collaborative projects for 2013-2014 were discussed.

Collaboration Between Stations. Project members meet annually to present results of completed studies, review the progress of on-going work, discuss industry issues and plan and coordinate the initiation of new studies for the upcoming year(s). We have created a network of collaborating scientists focused on improving the fertility of domestic ruminants in the West. The founding members of the W-2112 Regional Research Project established a tradition of cooperation that the current members strive to continue. Indeed, in this era of instant and direct communication, cooperation and collaboration has never been greater or more significant. The extent of collaboration between stations is extensive and may best be described by providing examples of collaborative projects.

Collaborative projects in brief include: Determining hormones patterns in ewe lambs with differing residual feed intakes (RFIs; NM, MT); Effects of nutrient restriction on metabolic hormone patterns (NM, CO); Thyroid involvement in BVD infected cows (NM, CO); Metabolic hormone profiles in cows consuming endophyte infected fescue (NM, AR); Follicular fluid concentrations of IGF (NM, OH), Meta-analysis of birth type on ewe reproductive performance (WY, MT, NM); ISG concentrations on maternal blood and IFNt in conceptuses (CO, OH); ISG15 knock out mice to understand the role of ISG15 in the bovine uterus (CO, WA); PGEs and CL function using intraluteal implants (CO, HI, TX); Influence of progesterone on sexual behavior (AK, WY, MN, MT, NE); Influence of gestational nutrition on pancreatic function (AZ, CO); Influence of gestational nutrition on insulin (AZ, WY); Extended oocyte/embryo culture (MI, FL); Oocyte quality and follicle diameter (MI, MT); Influence of follicle age on fertility (OH, MT); Stress hormones and abortion in cattle and sheep (NV, TX); Inhibin concentrations and temperament (TX, MN); Development in intact males (WY, MT, NM); SNPs in sheep (WY, UT); Role of VEGF in spermatogonial stem cell development and differentiation (WA, NE); Evaluation of IFN in maternal blood and embryo culture media in relation to early pregnancy establishment using a sensitive radioimmunoassay (CSU & VT); Uterine capacity for pregnancy in cattle (WSU & UFL with Peter Hansen [not a W2112 member]); Role of sperm abnormalities in pregnancy success and embryonic mortality in cattle (MT, MO); Examination of sperm quality in prenatally stressed compared with nonstressed control Brahman bulls (TX, MO); Effects of endogenous steroid levels during follicular development and ovulatory follicle size on oocyte quality/competence and uterine environment (OH, MO, MN, UID, & MSU); Optimizing approaches for estrous synchronization and timed-AI in beef cattle (OSU, ISU - Patrick Gunn [non-W2112], UW - Scott Lake [non-W2112]). Androstenedione (A4) concentrations and clearance in livers of high A4 and low A4 cows (MS, NE); VEGF isoforms in bull testis (NE, OSU); CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling and VEGF involvement (NE, NM); Muscle, adipose, and bone studies using obese models (NE, UConn); RNA extraction techniques from adipose tissue (NM, UConn); Poor maternal nutrition affects postnatal growth and development of lambs (UConn, ND); Evaluation of enzymes responsible for progesterone metabolism in ewes treated with hCG (NM, MS);

Other examples of cooperation include co-advising of graduate students between stations and willingness of member scientists to freely share critical reagents and methodologies with other members of the regional project. Such reagents include antisera, vaccines, tissue and serum samples, RNA and DNA tissue libraries, and novel cell lines and cDNA probes.

Kim adjourned the 2013 W2112 meeting at 11:00 am.
Producer directed output 
1. Alexander B. and Gary E. Moss. 2012. BREEDING PERFORMANCE OF RAMS: 25% of rams sire nearly 40% of the lambs. UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Reflections. p 20-21.
2. Alexander B. Producer oriented seminar. Effect of Sex of Co-Twin and Breed on Ewe Flock Productivity. National America Sheep Industry Meetings, Nashville, TN. January 21, 2010.
3. Alexander B. Producer oriented seminar. Raising Sheep. UW Extension, Park County. January 27, 2011.
4. Alexander, B. University of Wyoming Study Reveals Robust Sheep Industry. University of Wyoming Extension News http://www.wyomingextension.org/news/2012/05/23/university-of-wyoming-study-reveals-robust-wyoming-sheep-industry/ and Wyoming Public Radio audio report.
5. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle Symposium (Sioux Falls, SD) - December 2012 -  Changes in body condition on oocyte quality and embryo survival - ~ 200 producers/professionals.
6. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Driftless Region Beef Conference (Dubuque, IA) - February 2013 - Replacement female strategies - ~100 producers.
7. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Form-A-Feed Spring Breeding Webinar - May 2013 - Preparing for the breeding season - ~30 producers.
8. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Minnesota Beef Showcase - March 2012 - It takes two to tango: Importance of bull management - ~35 producers.
9. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Minnesota Beef Showcase - March 2012 - Options for estrous synchronization - ~35 producers.
10. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Minnesota Cow/Calf Days (10 locations) - February 2013 - Incorporating reproductive technologies into the cow herd - ~450 producers/professionals.
11. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Minnesota Nutrition Conference - Septermber 2012 - Influence of pre- and post-AI nutrition on pregnancy success in beef cattle - ~40 producers/professionals.
12. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Northern States Beef Conference (Watertown, SD) - January 2013 - Economic and managerial considerations when deciding to develop or purchase replacement females - ~125 producers/beef industry professionals.
13. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. Northwest MN Cattlemens Association Meeting - October 2012 - Preparing you beef operation for winter - ~45 producers.
14. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. University of Minnesota Cattle Harvest Days - January 2012 - Genetic selection and use of genomics to improve carcass quality - ~50 producers/beef industry professionals.
15. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. University of Minnesota Cow/Calf Days (5 locations) - February 2012 - Replacement heifer development ~250 producers.
16. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. XVII Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. March 14-15, 2013, Uberlandia, Brazil. - March 2013 - Uterine function and embryo survival - ~1000 producers/professionals.
17. Bridges, A. Producer oriented seminar. XVII Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. March 14-15, 2013, Uberlandia, Brazil. - March 2013 - Progesterone before AI and after AI on pregnancy success - ~1000 producers/professionals.
18. Burdick Sanchez, N.C., B.L. Bradbury, J.A. Carroll, R.C. Vann, T.H. Welsh, JR and R.D. Randel. 2012. Metabolic differences in temperamental Brahman cattle can affect productivity. Proc Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) 2012 pp 94-146.
19. Burton, Devin J., Paul A. Ludden, Robert H. Stobart, Brenda M. Alexander. Fifty years of the Wyoming Ram Test: How have we changed? The Shepard. 57 (2):6, April 2012.
20. Cardoso, FC. Producer oriented seminar. 2013. Managing the Transition Cow. Illinois Dairy Summit. January 22-24, Bloomington, Centralia, and Freeport, IL. Role: conference organizer and presenter. Audience: dairy producers, dairy industry representatives, and consultants. 314 attendees.
21. Cardoso, FC. Producer oriented seminar. 2013. The 3-R Transition Period: Recovery, Reproduction, and Results. Four State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference. June 12-13, 2013, Dubuque, IA. Role: conference organizer and presenter. Audience: dairy producers, dairy industry representatives, and consultants. 529 attendees.
22. Cruppe L. H. and M. L. Day. 2011. Producer oriented seminar. Estrous synchronization protocols to optimize follicular dynamics and hormonal concentration in Brazil and the USA. The XV Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. Uberlandia, Brazil, March 17-18, 2011. Presentation to approximately 700 producers, veterinarians, students and allied industry.
23. Cruppe L. H. and M. L. Day. 2011. Producer oriented seminar. Maximizing timed AI pregnancy rates with the 5 day CO-Synch + CIDR protocol in beef cattle. The 9th IRAC International Symposium on Animal Reproduction. Cordoba, Argentina, September 9-11, 2011. Presentation to approximately 1000 veterinarians, students and allied industry.
24. Cupp, AS, JR Wood, RA McFee, R Slattery, KA Beavers, W Pohlmeier, K Sargent NX Lu, J Smith, J Kerl, Vanessa Brauer, A Summers, Stetson Weber, RA Cushman. Granulosa Cell Gene Expression is altered in Follicles from Cows with Differing Reproductive Longevity. Nebraska Beef Report 2011.
25. Cupp, AS, Producer oriented seminar. 2012- Nebraska Ag Builders- Research conducted at the Agriculture Research and Development Center in the cow/calf unit Physiology herdPotential effects of too much androgen on female fertility.
26. Gardiner, Lane, Benjamin Rashford, John Hewlett, Brenda Alexander. 2012. The State of the Wyoming Sheep Industry. University of Wyoming Extension Bulletin. B-1229.
27. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. Genex Customer Meeting in Lewistown, MT (1/ 2012), Reproduction and synchronization in beef cattle (approximately 70 producers).
28. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. Genex Large Herd Summit in Billings, MT (9/2012), Bull fertility measures: Impacts on fertilization and pregnancy success (approximately 50 producers from across US, each of which breeds > 2500 cows).
29. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. MT Extension group in Big Timber, MT (1/2012), Fertility and pregnancy establishment in beef cattle (approximately 40 producers).
30. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. MT Extension group in Glendive, MT (1/2013), Bull fertility measures and their impacts on fertilization and pregnancy success (approximately 40 producers).
31. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. MT Nutrition Conference in Bozeman, MT (4/2012), Fertility in beef cattle (approximately 150 producers & industry representatives).
32. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. MT Producer group in Miles City, MT (4/2013), Fertilization and pregnancy maintenance: What is new? (approximately 30 producers).
33. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. MT Producer group in Miles City, MT (9/2012), Fertilization and pregnancy maintenance: What is new? (approximately 30 producers & industry representatives).
34. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. Pfizer Scientific Exchange in Miles City, MT (5/2012), Fertilization and pregnancy maintenance in the beef cow: Ovulatory follicle size & estradiol (approximately 15 industry veterinarians).
35. Geary, T. Producer oriented seminar. Pfizer Scientific Exchange in Miles City, MT (5/2012), Bull fertility measures and their impacts on fertilization and pregnancy success (approximately 15 industry veterinarians).
36. L. H. Cruppe and M. L. Day. 2012. Producer oriented seminar. Optimizing timed AI pregnancy rate with the 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR Program. The 2012 Joint Convention of CETA/ACTE and AETA (Canadian and American Embryo Transfer Associations). Presentation to approximately 300 members of these societies.
37. Lu NX, J Smith V Brauer, A Summers, W Pohlmeier, KA Beavers, R McFee, K Sargent J Kerl, RA Cushman, AS Cupp, JR Wood. Ooctye mRNA and Follicle Androgen Levels associated with Fertility. Nebraska Beef Report 2012, Pg 28-29.
38. M. L. Day. 2012. Producer oriented seminar. Optimizing timed AI pregnancy rate with the 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR Programme. The 2012 Bayer New Zealand Reproduction Road Show. Presented at 8 locations in New Zealand to a total of approximately 300 dairy and beef cattle veterinarians.
39. Maquivar M, and M. L. Day. 2011. Producer oriented seminar. Strategies for nutritional and hormonal induction of puberty in beef heifers and the impact on fertility. The 9th International Symposium on Animal Reproduction. Cordoba, Argentina, September 9-11, 2011. Presentation to approximately 1000 veterinarians, students and allied industry.
40. Maquivar M. and M. L. Day. 2011. Producer oriented seminar. Nutritional and hormonal induction of puberty in heifers and the impact on fertility. The XV Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle: 43-54. Uberlandia, Brazil, March 17-18, 2011. Presentation to approximately 700 producers, veterinarians, students and allied industry.
41. McRee, RM, RA Artac, WE Pohlmeier, JG Kerl, VM Brauer, RA Cushman, AS Cupp. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) in Ovulatory Follicles. Nebraska Beef Report 2012, pg. 26-27.
42. Randel, R.D., R.C. Vann and T.H. Welsh, Jr. 2012. Selection tools for temperament. Proc. Beef Improvement Federation (BIF), 2012 pp 38-75.
43. Summers AF, RA Cushman, SP Weber, KV Moline, JW Bergman, ML Spangler, AS Cupp. Nutritional Regime and Antral Follicle Count Impact Reproductive Characteristics in Heifers. Nebraska Beef Report 2012, pg. 24-25.
44. Summers, AF, RA Cushman, KV Moline, JW Bergman, AS Cupp. Heifers with low antral follicle counts have low birth weights and produce progeny with low birth weights. Nebraska Beef Report 2013. Pg 11-12.
45. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. 4th Annual Symposium of Réseau Qébeçois en Reproduction, Montreal, November 15 &16, 2011.
46. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. 8th Biannual Meeting of the Association for Applied Animal Andrology (AAAA), July 28 & 29, 2012, Vancouver, BC, CANADA.
47. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. Asian Productivity Organization (APO) Workshop on Nanotechnology Applications for Boosting Agricultural Productivity, Yilan, Taiwan, R.O.C., September 3-7, 2012 (Invited speaker & facilitator/resource person)
48. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. From Researcher to User - Workshop on Knowledge Transfer, Réseau Qébeçois en Reproduction, Montreal, November 14, 2011.
49. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. International Symposium on Animal Reproduction and Genetics, Lima, Peru, August 18, 2011.
50. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. Kansas City Animal Health Investment Forum, August 29-30, 2011.
51. Sutovsky P. Producer oriented seminar. Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle, Joplin, MO, August 31-September 1, 2011.

Accomplishments

Accomplishments:<br /> <br /> Objective 1. <br /> GnRH agonist treatment results in the following:<br /> 1. Increases CL size and circulating P4 concentrations<br /> 2. Increases number of antral follicles in the first follicular wave<br /> 3. Cease follicular waves after the first wave in first lactation cows, but multiparous cows continue to have greater number of large follicles than control animals<br /> 4. Greater numbers of follicles on the ovary with the CL indicating a potential intraovarian communication <br /> 5. No change in interestrous length if the animal is not pregnant <br /> 6. Increased pregnancy rates in cows receiving agonist for 7 days as compared to 12 days of treatment or controls<br /> 7. No difference in E2 or P4 concentrations in milk <br /> 8. No residual Deslorelin measured within the milk<br /> Impacts of nutrient restriction followed by realimentation on uterine blood flow and placental vascular reactivity in beef cows.<br /> 1. The uteroplacenta appears to respond differently to nutrient restriction in pregnant beef cows compared to sheep. 2. The down-regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 activity during pregnancy may contribute to the increase in peripheral estradiol concentrations in beef cows. 3. Chronic uterine infusion of melatonin increases fetal aorta blood flow and umbilical artery blood flow, while melatonin receptor antagonist (luzindole) infusion decreases fetal aorta blood flow in sheep.. <br /> Influence of post-insemination nutrition on embryonic development in beef heifers and influence of estrus at fixed-time AI on accessory sperm numbers and embryonic development.<br /> 1. Immediate alterations in early embryonic development are observed in heifers that fail to receive adequate nutritional inputs following insemination and these alterations are likely due to insufficient oviduct and uterine support of the developing embryo. 2. Estrus expression prior to timed-AI resulted in day 6 embryos of greater quality and developmental stage compared to embryos recovered from cows that failed to exhibit estrous prior to timed-AI. In addition, the number of accessory sperm tended to be greater; potentially indicating improved sperm transport in cows that exhibited estrus. 3. Nutritional and hormonal interventions have shown promise to advance sexual maturation in bulls. Technology to decrease the age at which viable sperm is produced by bulls intended for AI in the genomics era of sire selection is necessary to capture the full advantages of genomics to accelerate genetic improvement.<br /> Determining if a dose dependent response to the etiologic agent that causes Epizootic Bovine Abortion (aoEBA) is occurring in animals that have been exposed to the pathogen prior to pregnancy and determine if bacterial load prior to pregnancy can have an effect on maintenance of pregnancy.<br /> 1. Investigation into the role of immunologic mediators during pregnancy following infection with the abortigenic bacteria that causes Epizootic Bovine Abortion may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the role of cytokines in the maintenance and termination of pregnancy in cattle infected with a bacterial pathogen. 2. Research into the development of a safe vaccine, one that is non-pathogenic to the host and can be used in pregnant animals, will be aided by the results of this research. Understanding which immunologic mediators play a role in a protective immune response against this pathogen will help tailor research into the development of a possible recombinant vaccine that could serve this purpose. <br /> 1. IFNT protects early pregnancy in ruminants through paracrine action on the endometrium and also through endocrine action on the CL and peripheral blood cells through enhancing luteal resistance to PGF.2. A highly specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for IFNT, which has different levels of detection in uterine flushing compared to serum. 3. The endocrine mechanism of action of IFNT might entail up regulation of ISGs as well as cell survival genes to assist with providing resistance of the CL to PGF, but also in longer-term resilience in context of continued production of progesterone.4. IFNT may also induce luteal resistance to PGF through induction of ISGs that prevent downregulation of genes encoding LHCGR and PTX3. Stabilization of LHCGR would support steroidogenesis and continued production of P4, whereas stabilization of PTX3 may prevent cell death and mediate inflammatory responses in a humoral rather than cell-mediated mechanism.5. The direct assessment of gene function within the placenta has not been feasible in non-rodent species, especially in ruminants. A good case in point is that the placental lactogen has investigated for nearly 50 years, yet a direct function or relative importance has never been established. 6. The quantification of changes in the estrogen-kisspeptin-GnRH signaling pathway in OVX-E ewes at different times of the year may lead to insights into factors causing the switch from negative to positive.<br /> A Bovine Model for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. <br /> 1. A sub-population of cows within the UNL physiology research herd have androstenedione (A4) excess within follicular fluid. These cows appear to leave the herd at a 2:1 ratio compared to cows that have low A4 due to not having a calf. Granulosa cells activate different signal transduction pathways dependent on follicle health status and ability to convert androstenedione to estrogen resulting in different steroidogenic profiles for beef cattle follicles. <br /> 1. We are investigating cows that have been treated with different progesterone or progestin as well as those with different concentrations of androgen in follicular fluid to understand how signal transduction pathways in granulosa cells may be altered. <br /> Prostaglandin F2a Activates Stress Response Signaling and Induces Expression of Activating Transcription Factor 3 (ATF3) in Bovine Large Luteal Cells. <br /> 1. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a stress-adaptive gene that regulates proliferation or apoptosis under stress conditions. It appears to be upregulated during CL lysis initiated by PGF2alpha. This gene appears to suppress transcription of genes however, it does not appear to affect steroidogenic enzymes but does suppress progesterone production.<br /> Loss of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in Granulosa cells using pDMRT-1 cre reduces female fertility by arresting follicular development and reducing number of follicles ovulated and affecting litter size. <br /> 1. Novel mouse lines where VEGFA isoforms have been knocked out in granulosa or Sertoli cells have been generated to delineate the functions and necessity for VEGFA isoforms in ovarian function. The actions of these VEGFA isoforms appear to have dramatic impacts on female reproduction. Loss of all VEGFA isoforms in Granulosa and some germ cells causes reduced fertility with smaller litter sizes and more days from mating to parturition. There are also less antral follicles developing with increases in mRNA abundance for FOXO3a, reduced estrogen concentrations in plasma, and smaller ovarian weight with a tendency for less CL. These all suggest that loss of all VEGFA isoforms causes subfertility by causing altered follicular development resulting in less follicles ovulating and smaller litters. <br /> Poor maternal nutrition affects postnatal growth and development of lambs.<br /> 1. Poor maternal nutrition due to over-feeding during gestation leads to increased size of lambs at birth, increased heart size and increased insulin which may predispose these offspring to metabolic disorders later in life.2. Poor maternal nutrition due to under- and over-feeding during gestation impairs muscle development during postnatal growth. The reduced muscle growth may be due to altered gene expression within the muscle and satellite cell number and/or function.3. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation alters the expression of key genes involved in the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts. This could explain the differences in bone and adipose tissue development between offspring from control versus under- or over-fed mothers during gestation.4. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation alters circulating concentrations of GH, IGF-I, insulin and leptin, which may contribute to, altered growth observed in offspring from these mothers.<br /> Expression profiling and potential functions of protein kinase C delta during early bovine embryo development <br /> 1. Recent work implicates PKC-delta as a mediator of embryonic development, interferon-tau expression and early placental development in cattle.<br /> Development of a Luciferase-Based Reporter Assay for Quantifying Interferon Activity<br /> 1. An ISRE-reporter assay was developed as a replacement for the virus-dependent cytopathic assays that have been used to examine interferon-tau in biological samples. This assay contains a similar sensitivity, a broader concentration dose-response range, and is completed in a shorter time than the traditional cytopathic assay.<br /> Correlations Between PAG Concentrations, Pregnancy Loss and Milk Production in High Producing Holstein Cows<br /> 1. An initial assessment of a large database determined that placental and luteal insufficiencies are detected in dairy cattle prior to pregnancy failure. Continued analysis of this dataset will explore the impact of peri- and post-partum illnesses on pregnancy outcomes in dairy cattle. <br /> Impact of the number of estrous cycles before the start of breeding on reproductive performance of beef heifers and effects on subsequent re-breeding success.<br /> Attainment of puberty before start of breeding was associated with increased heifer pregnancy rate, with little or no benefit from having more than one estrous cycle prior to start of breeding. In contrast, second season pregnancy rate was positively associated with number of estrous cycles expressed prior to the start of a heifer's first breeding season.<br /> Circulating bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) are associated with late embryonic/fetal survival but not ovulatory follicle size in suckled beef cows<br /> No relationship exists between serum bPAGs and ovulatory follicle size or embryo stage/quality at ET; however, cows that lost an embryo after d 28 had lower concentrations of bPAGs on d 28 compared to cows that maintained pregnancy.<br /> Activation of the CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine axis may drive vascularization of the ovine placenta<br /> The CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling pathway is activated during implantation and placentation in sheep and is likely playing a role in the communication between trophoblast cells and the maternal endometrium, specifically driving vascularization.<br /> Effects of maternal obesity on membrane progesterone receptors, CXCL12, and CXCR4 expression during early pregnancy in sheep<br /> Membrane progesterone receptors are up regulated in caruncle tissue from obese compared to control ewes.<br /> PGE1 and PGE2 functions in rats and sheep<br /> An essential fatty acid deficiency increased PSP and decreased the deciduomata response in PSP rats. Both PGE1 and PGE2 increased in pregnant ewes support PGE1 and PGE2 as antiluteolysins. PGE1 or PGE2 prevents progesterone-induced premature luteolysis by preventing a loss of luteal unoccupied and occupied LH receptors.<br /> Maternal obesity and overnutrition is associated with reduced systemic progesterone during the estrous cycles of adult female offspring and a marked increase in insulin resistance at midpregnancy<br /> Mature ewes born to obese/overfed mothers (F1-MO ewes) exhibit marked greater insulin resistance with elevated blood concentrations of glucose and insulin throughout pregnancy when compared to daughters born to control fed mothers even when both groups were only fed to requirements throughout pregnancy. These data suggest that the F2 generation born to these F1-MO ewes may exhibit the same metabolic alterations (hyperphagia, increased adiposity, and increased insulin resistance) as their mothers, resulting in a transgenerational programming effect.<br /> Dexamethasone (DM) administration in F0 ovine pregnancy eliminates the postnatal (PN) plasma leptin (L) peak in F2 offspring (OFF) and results in increased appetite and weight gain<br /> These data confirm that injection of a synthetic glucocorticoid to pregnant ewes in late gestation eliminates the normally observed postnatal leptin surge in their offspring leading to increased appetite and obesity in later life. This confirms our hypothesis that the elevated levels of cortisol observed in blood of fetuses gestated by obese/overfed ewes may be the cause for the elimination of the postnatal leptin surge in these offspring, leading to macrophagia, obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood.<br /> Maternal obesity and over-nutrition alters the fetal sheep heart transcriptome<br /> We have previously demonstrated that maternal obesity and overnutrition increases fetal left ventricular heart weight and reduces cardiac work load capacity.<br /> There is strong evidence that the satiety hormone leptin, produced predominantly by adipocytes has effects on the maturation of the hypothalamus circuits controlling food intake. We have recently confirmed the presence of a leptin surge from day 6 to 9 postnatal age in the sheep, and that diet-induced maternal obesity eliminated this postnatal peak in their daughters. More importantly, when these offspring reached adulthood, and were subjected to ad libitum feeding, they exhibited increased appetites, adiposity and insulin resistance.<br /> Obesity in pregnancy: implications for the next generation<br /> To evaluate transgenerational impacts of maternal obesity, F1 daughters of obese/overnourished (MO) and control-fed (C) ewes were fed only to requirements during pregnancy. From mid to late gestation, F1 MO mothers exhibited markedly greater baseline glucose and insulin than F1 C mothers, and were more insulin resistant. As observed for their mothers, F2 lambs born to F1 MO ewes had a markedly greater fat % at birth than F1 C mothers, and failed to exhibit the postnatal leptin spike as their mothers had. These data suggest a predisposition of F2 MO offspring for increased appetite, adiposity and metabolic disease in adult life.<br /> Late gestational low dose dexamethasone treatment programs arterial hypertension and vascular dysfunction in adult female sheep offspring <br /> Administration of exogenous glucocorticoids to pregnant ewes on days 103/104 of gestation programs arterial hypertension in adult female offspring.<br /> Dietary intervention in early pregnancy reduces the negative impacts of obesity /overnutrition on fetal growth and organ development, and improves glucose-insulin dynamics in late gestation<br /> Reduction in maternal feed intake only to requirements at day 28 of gestation in obese/overfed ewes through late gestation has been shown to normalize fetal growth and glucose:insulin dynamics both at mid- and late gestation.<br /> Dietary reduction from early gestation in obese/overnourished ewes reduced adiposity and serum lipids and increased liver glycogen in late gestation fetuse<br /> Late gestation fetuses of obese/overfed ewes exhibit increased adiposity, and elevated serum concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol, as well as an increased PEPCK expression and reduced glycogen in their livers when compared to similar age fetuses from ewes fed only to requirements. Reduction in maternal feed intake only to requirements from day 28 through the rest of gestation in obese/overfed ewes returned all of these values to those of controls by late gestation.<br /> Neural Activity in the olfactory pathway of female-, male-oriented, and sexually inactive rams exposed to urine from estrous and ovariectomized ewes<br /> Female-oriented rams exhibit more neural activity along the olfactory pathway when exposed to sexually evocative stimuli than do sexually inactive rams. Exposure to sexually evocative and neutral odors elicited differential activity only in cortical amygdala in female-oriented rams. Activity in the cortical amygdala may alert rams and may account for the different behavioral response when sexually active rams are exposed to either estrous or non-estrous females. The lower neural activity in sexually inactive rams suggests inactive rams do not cue to sexual stimuli as sexually active rams do. <br /> The presence of appetite hormones in breast milk may be important in infant appetite regulation. Additionally, changes in concentration of GLP-1 and Ghrelin during a single feeding may signal satiety in the nursing infant.<br /> Fetal adrenal demedullation at 0.7 gestation alters fetal growth and metabolism at 0.9 gestation in an ovine model of placental insufficiency and intrauterine growth restriction.<br /> Norepinephrine is required for normal ß-cell development and function. Chronic excess of NE as found in IUGR fetuses potentiates the actions of hypoglycemia and hypoxemia to suppress insulin secretion and fetal growth.<br /> Intrinsic deficiencies in myoblast proliferation result in less differentiated myoblasts and smaller myofibers in IUGR fetal sheep<br /> IUGR myoblasts possessed intrinsic functional deficiencies that impaired their<br /> capacity to proliferate and facilitate muscle growth. In vitro differentiation of myoblasts resulted in an alter fiber phenotype profile between control and IUGR fetuses.<br /> A heterobivalent ligand composes of GLP-1 and adrenergic antagonist, yohimbine, exhibits high specificity for ²-cells in vivo. Multivalent ligands can be expanded and used to develop other ²-cell specific targeting agents or reproductive specific targeting agents.<br /> Genetic parameters of three methods of temperament evaluation of beef calves and Evaluation of temperament scoring methods for beef cattle<br /> Temperament measured using exit velocity or pen score is heritable (0.27 to 0.49). This is adequate for selection to improve temperament of cattle. If only one method is to be used pen score has the greatest heritability (0.49). Calves can be effectively pen scored as single animals or in groups up to 5 animals. The correlation between single animal and group pen scores was 0.79.<br /> Effects of prenatal transportation on Brahman calves<br /> Prenatal transportation stress applied on days 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 of gestation resulted in:<br /> a. More temperamental calves on days 14 and 28 after birth.<br /> b. Only minor differences in complete blood cell counts due to prenatal stress but significantly (<0.01) greater numbers of basophils and a tendency (P=0.10) for greater numbers of neutrophils in females compared with males.<br /> c. Response to vaccination in white blood cell counts was reduced in prenatally stressed heifers but not in bulls. <br /> d. Prenatal stress and temperament alter metabolic response to an endotoxin challenge in Brahman bull calves. Circulating glucose was greater in prenatally stressed calves and in temperamental calves. Following endotoxin challenge insulin was lower in prenatally stressed calves.<br /> e. Prenatal stress influenced pre and post-endotoxin challenge acute phase response in Brahman bull calves. Rectal temperatures were greater pre and post-endotoxin challenge in prenatally stressed Brahman bull calves. <br /> <br /> Cows that received controlled energy (CE) diets during the last 3 wk prepartum had shorter days to pregnancy (DTP) than cows that consumed high energy (HE) diets in this time period, which may be attributable in part to increased NELI in the first 4 wk postpartum for cows that received CE diets in the close-up (CU) period. In addition, lower BCS loss in the first 6 wk and slightly greater glucose concentrations at wk 3 may have contributed to improved reproductive performance. Energy- limited cows had lower liver TG concentrations at wk 2, which led to fewer DTP. <br /> Objective 2: <br /> Effects of progesterone concentration and FSH administration on follicle number and oocyte competence in beef cows and effects of decreased progesterone concentrations during follicular development on oocyte yield and quality in beef heifers.<br /> 1. Administration of FSH increased the number of follicles aspirated, oocytes collected, proportion of grade 1 to 3 oocytes, and number of grade 1 to 3 oocytes per cow. Administration of FSH, however, did not affect the ability of the oocyte to cleave or develop into a blastocyst or affect the characteristics of subsequently developed blastocysts. Reducing progesterone concentrations during follicular development increased the number of follicles present at aspiration but did not impact quality of oocytes recovered or the ability of the oocytes recovered to cleave and develop into a blastocyst. <br /> 2. In beef heifers, reducing progesterone concentrations within an ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up protocol that included FSH administration resulted in more oocytes collected and increased the number of grade 1 to 3 oocytes recovered per female.<br /> Nutritional management of Nelore heifers to support precocious pregnancy at 12 to 15 months of age in Brazil<br /> 1. It was demonstrated that a majority of Bos indicus (Nelore) heifers will conceive at one year of age and rebreed effectively as primiparous cows with sufficient nutritional management and hormonal intervention. <br /> Impacts of nutrient restriction followed by realimentation on uterine blood flow and placental vascular reactivity in beef cows.<br /> 1. The uteroplacenta appears to respond differently to nutrient restriction in pregnant beef cows compared to sheep. Nutrient restriction does NOT alter uterine blood flow in early to mid pregnant beef cows. Upon realimentation, it appears that the ipsilateral horn receives more blood flow compared to cows that were not previously restricted. <br /> 2. The down-regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450 activity during pregnancy may contribute to the increase in peripheral estradiol concentrations in beef cows. Hepatic glucuronosyltransferase is down-regulated while serum concentrations of progesterone are increased after extended maternal nutrient restriction. <br /> 3. Chronic uterine infusion of melatonin increases fetal aorta blood flow and umbilical artery blood flow, while melatonin receptor antagonist (luzindole) infusion decreases fetal aorta blood flow in sheep. <br /> Influence of post-insemination nutrition on embryonic development in beef heifers and influence of estrus at fixed-time AI on accessory sperm numbers and embryonic development.<br /> 1. Immediate alterations in early embryonic development are observed in heifers that fail to receive adequate nutritional inputs following insemination and these alterations are likely due to insufficient oviduct and uterine support of the developing embryo. <br /> 2. Estrus expression prior to timed-AI resulted in day 6 embryos of greater quality and developmental stage compared to embryos recovered from cows that failed to exhibit estrous prior to timed-AI. In addition, the number of accessory sperm tended to be greater; potentially indicating improved sperm transport in cows that exhibited estrus. <br /> The effect of a post-weaning high energy diet on the testicular characteristics and semen production in mature Holstein bulls and Effect of Exogenous FSH on Endogenous FSH Secretion and Testicular Development in Prepubertal Bulls. <br /> 1. Nutritional and hormonal interventions have shown promise to advance sexual maturation in bulls. Technology to decrease the age at which viable sperm is produced by bulls intended for AI in the genomics era of sire selection is necessary to capture the full advantages of genomics to accelerate genetic improvement.<br /> Linking mutations in genes that control male fertility to normal and aberrant sperm phenotypes in bulls used in artificial insemination service. <br /> Variations in the genome to sperm protein phenotype can be linked to objectively assess phenotypic expression of polymorphic fertility-associated genes. Many elite bulls with outstanding meat or milk production traits have low AI fertility. Based on sperm quality biomarker discovery a method for magnetic depletion of defective spermatozoa from bull semen, prior to extender addition and preparation of AI doses/straws has been developed. Commercially available nanoparticles coated with antibodies against ubiquitin, found exclusively on the surface of defective bull sperm is being employed. A second type of particle coated with lectin PNA that binds to acrosomal glycans exposed by premature sperm capacitation or acrosome reaction/damage is also in progress. Alone, or in combination, these nanoparticles were mixed with freshly collected semen for 15 min during the initial semen cooling, then removed by a strong magnet prior to semen extension and cryopreservation. This technique is simple and time efficient, has no requirement for equipment other than a magnet bar and uses commercially available components adding only cents to the cost of producing an AI dose.<br /> Evaluating the cytokine response during pregnancy following experimental challenge.<br /> 1. Investigation into the role of immunologic mediators during pregnancy following infection with the abortigenic bacteria that causes Epizootic Bovine Abortion may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the role of cytokines in the maintenance and termination of pregnancy in cattle infected with a bacterial pathogen. The leukocytes and inflammatory mediators involved in termination of pregnancy are important considerations in the development of therapies aimed at maintaining healthy pregnancies in cattle during pathogen infection. <br /> 2. Research into the development of a safe vaccine, one that is non-pathogenic to the host and can be used in pregnant animals, will be aided by the results of this research. Understanding which immunologic mediators play a role in a protective immune response against this pathogen will help tailor research into the development of a possible recombinant vaccine that could serve this purpose. <br /> Interactions of the embryo, uterus and corpus luteum for sustenance of embryos.<br /> 1. IFNT protects early pregnancy in ruminants through paracrine action on the endometrium and also through endocrine action on the CL and peripheral blood cells through enhancing luteal resistance to PGF.<br /> 2. A highly specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for IFNT, which has different levels of detection in uterine flushing compared to serum. IFNT leaves the uterus and has endocrine action on extrauterine tissues such as the CL and peripheral blood cells.<br /> 3. The endocrine mechanism of action of IFNT might entail up regulation of ISGs as well as cell survival genes to assist with providing resistance of the CL to PGF, but also in longer-term resilience in context of continued production of progesterone.<br /> 4. IFNT may also induce luteal resistance to PGF through induction of ISGs that prevent downregulation of genes encoding LHCGR and PTX3. Stabilization of LHCGR would support steroidogenesis and continued production of P4, whereas stabilization of PTX3 may prevent cell death and mediate inflammatory responses in a humoral rather than cell-mediated mechanism.<br /> 5. The direct assessment of gene function within the placenta has not been feasible in non-rodent species, especially in ruminants. A good case in point is that the placental lactogen has investigated for nearly 50 years, yet a direct function or relative importance has never been established. This is true for a plethora of genes expressed by the placenta. We know have the tools in hand to create transgenic placenta in sheep, that should allow the direct assessment of the impact of placental lactogen deficiency on sheep fetal growth near term (135 dGA). This technology can also be applied to other genes expressed within the ruminant placenta and/or fetus.<br /> A Bovine Model for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. <br /> 1. A sub-population of cows within the UNL physiology research herd have androstenedione (A4) excess within follicular fluid. These cows appear to leave the herd at a 2:1 ratio compared to cows that have low A4 due to not having a calf. We are further characterizing these cows to determine if there is altered gonadotropin secretion, theca and granulosa cell gene expression or abnormal negative feedback of steroid hormones. We are also trying to determine if administration of CIDRs or progestins affect their profile of steroids in follicular fluid and how oocyte development may also be affected. <br /> Granulosa cells activate different signal transduction pathways dependent on follicle health status and ability to convert androstenedione to estrogen resulting in different steroidogenic profiles for beef cattle follicles. <br /> 1. We are investigating cows that have been treated with different progesterone or progestin as well as those with different concentrations of androgen in follicular fluid to understand how signal transduction pathways in granulosa cells may be altered. <br /> Prostaglandin F2a Activates Stress Response Signaling and Induces Expression of Activating Transcription Factor 3 (ATF3) in Bovine Large Luteal Cells. <br /> 1. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a stress-adaptive gene that regulates proliferation or apoptosis under stress conditions. It appears to be upregulated during CL lysis initiated by PGF2alpha. This gene appears to suppress transcription of genes however, it does not appear to affect steroidogenic enzymes but does suppress progesterone production thus, it may work through increased cholesterol metabolism or transport. Understanding the basic mechanisms involved in CL lysis may allow for alternative methods to be developed to regulate the bovine estrous cycle.<br /> Loss of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in Granulosa cells using pDMRT-1 cre reduces female fertility by arresting follicular development and reducing number of follicles ovulated and affecting litter size. <br /> 1. Novel mouse lines where VEGFA isoforms have been knocked out in granulosa or Sertoli cells have been generated to delineate the functions and necessity for VEGFA isoforms in ovarian function. The actions of these VEGFA isoforms appear to have dramatic impacts on female reproduction. Loss of all VEGFA isoforms in Granulosa and some germ cells causes reduced fertility with smaller litter sizes and more days from mating to parturition. There are also less antral follicles developing with increases in mRNA abundance for FOXO3a, reduced estrogen concentrations in plasma, and smaller ovarian weight with a tendency for less CL. These all suggest that loss of all VEGFA isoforms causes subfertility by causing altered follicular development resulting in less follicles ovulating and smaller litters. <br /> Poor maternal nutrition affects postnatal growth and development of lambs.<br /> 1. Poor maternal nutrition due to over-feeding during gestation leads to increased size of lambs at birth, increased heart size and increased insulin which may predispose these offspring to metabolic disorders later in life.<br /> 2. Poor maternal nutrition due to under- and over-feeding during gestation impairs muscle development during postnatal growth. The reduced muscle growth may be due to altered gene expression within the muscle and satellite cell number and/or function.<br /> 3. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation alters the expression of key genes involved in the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts. This could explain the differences in bone and adipose tissue development between offspring from control versus under- or over-fed mothers during gestation.<br /> 4. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation alters circulating concentrations of GH, IGF-I, insulin and leptin, which may contribute to, altered growth observed in offspring from these mothers.<br /> Characterization of the Pramel1 gene during spermatogenesis.<br /> The PRAME/PRAMEY gene family is essential for spermatogenesis and male fertility. Characterization of the bovine and ovine Y chromosome sequence, organization, and gene content provides not only important comparative mapping information for studying Y chromosome biology and evolution, but also male-specific genetic markers that will allow us to identify high and low fertility bulls in a sire selection program.<br /> Regulation and regulatory role of WNT signaling in potentiating FSH action during bovine dominant follicle selection.<br /> Investigation of the role of the Wnt signaling in regulation of follicular development may ultimately lead to development of new technologies to manipulate the follicular selection process in cattle and potentially enhance efficiency of superovulation.<br /> Expression profiling and potential functions of protein kinase C delta during early bovine embryo development <br /> <br /> 1. Recent work implicates PKC-delta as a mediator of embryonic development, interferon-tau expression and early placental development in cattle.<br /> Correlations Between PAG Concentrations, Pregnancy Loss and Milk Production in High Producing Holstein Cows<br /> 1. An initial assessment of a large database determined that placental and luteal insufficiencies are detected in dairy cattle prior to pregnancy failure. Continued analysis of this dataset will explore the impact of peri- and post-partum illnesses on pregnancy outcomes in dairy cattle. <br /> Impact of the number of estrous cycles before the start of breeding on reproductive performance of beef heifers and effects on subsequent re-breeding success.<br /> Attainment of puberty before start of breeding was associated with increased heifer pregnancy rate, with little or no benefit from having more than one estrous cycle prior to start of breeding. In contrast, second season pregnancy rate was positively associated with number of estrous cycles expressed prior to the start of a heifer's first breeding season.<br /> Circulating bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) are associated with late embryonic/fetal survival but not ovulatory follicle size in suckled beef cows<br /> No relationship exists between serum bPAGs and ovulatory follicle size or embryo stage/quality at ET; however, cows that lost an embryo after d 28 had lower concentrations of bPAGs on d 28 compared to cows that maintained pregnancy.<br /> <br /> Activation of the CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine axis may drive vascularization of the ovine placenta<br /> The CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling pathway is activated during implantation and placentation in sheep and is likely playing a role in the communication between trophoblast cells and the maternal endometrium, specifically driving vascularization<br /> Membrane progesterone receptors are up regulated in caruncle tissue from obese compared to control ewes<br /> PGE1 and PGE2 functions in rats and sheep<br /> An essential fatty acid deficiency increased PSP and decreased the deciduomata response in PSP rats. Both PGE1 and PGE2 increased in pregnant ewes support PGE1 and PGE2 as antiluteolysins. PGE1 or PGE2 prevents progesterone-induced premature luteolysis by preventing a loss of luteal unoccupied and occupied LH receptors.<br /> Maternal obesity and overnutrition is associated with reduced systemic progesterone during the estrous cycles of adult female offspring and a marked increase in insulin resistance at midpregnancy.<br /> Mature ewes born to obese/overfed mothers (F1-MO ewes) exhibit marked greater insulin resistance with elevated blood concentrations of glucose and insulin throughout pregnancy when compared to daughters born to control fed mothers even when both groups were only fed to requirements throughout pregnancy. F2 generation born to these F1-MO ewes may exhibit the same metabolic alterations (hyperphagia, increased adiposity, and increased insulin resistance) as their mothers, resulting in a transgenerational programming effect.<br /> Dexamethasone (DM) administration in F0 ovine pregnancy eliminates the postnatal (PN) plasma leptin (L) peak in F2 offspring (OFF) and results in increased appetite and weight gain.<br /> Maternal obesity and over-nutrition alters the fetal sheep heart transcriptome<br /> We have previously demonstrated that maternal obesity and overnutrition increases fetal left ventricular heart weight and reduces cardiac work load capacity. Transcriptome profiling revealed differential expression of hundreds of genes some of which are known to be relevant to sodium, potassium and calcium transport suggesting that maternal obesity may influence sheep cardiac development and function.<br /> Role of Early Postnatal Leptin Surge in Setting Appetitic Centers<br /> There is strong evidence that the satiety hormone leptin, produced predominantly by adipocytes has effects on the maturation of the hypothalamus circuits controlling food intake. When these offspring reached adulthood, and were subjected to ad libitum feeding, they exhibited increased appetites, adiposity and insulin resistance.<br /> Obesity in pregnancy: implications for the next generation<br /> Late gestational low dose dexamethasone treatment programs arterial hypertension and vascular dysfunction in adult female sheep offspring <br /> Administration of exogenous glucocorticoids to pregnant ewes on days 103/104 of gestation programs arterial hypertension in adult female offspring.<br /> Late gestation fetuses of obese/overfed ewes exhibit increased adiposity, and elevated serum concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol, as well as an increased PEPCK expression and reduced glycogen in their livers when compared to similar age fetuses from ewes fed only to requirements. Reduction in maternal feed intake only to requirements from day 28 through the rest of gestation in obese/overfed ewes returned all of these values to those of controls by late gestation, suggesting a beneficial effect of diet reduction.<br /> Female-oriented rams exhibit more neural activity along the olfactory pathway when exposed to sexually evocative stimuli than do sexually inactive rams. Exposure to sexually evocative and neutral odors elicited differential activity only in cortical amygdala in female-oriented rams. Activity in the cortical amygdala may alert rams and may account for the different behavioral response when sexually active rams are exposed to either estrous or non-estrous females. The lower neural activity in sexually inactive rams suggests inactive rams do not cue to sexual stimuli as sexually active rams do. The differential neural activity may account for the lack of behavior in the presence of estrous ewes.<br /> The presence of appetite hormones in breast milk may be important in infant appetite regulation. Additionally, changes in concentration of GLP-1 and Ghrelin during a single feeding may signal satiety in the nursing infant.<br /> Fetal adrenal demedullation at 0.7 gestation alters fetal growth and metabolism at 0.9 gestation in an ovine model of placental insufficiency and intrauterine growth restriction.<br /> Norepinephrine is required for normal ß-cell development and function. Chronic excess of NE as found in IUGR fetuses potentiates the actions of hypoglycemia and hypoxemia to suppress insulin secretion and fetal growth.<br /> A heterobivalent ligand composes of GLP-1 and adrenergic antagonist, yohimbine, exhibits high specificity for ²-cells in vivo. Multivalent ligands can be expanded and used to develop other ²-cell specific targeting agents or reproductive specific targeting agents.<br /> Temperament measured using exit velocity or pen score is heritable (0.27 to 0.49). This is adequate for selection to improve temperament of cattle. If only one method is to be used pen score has the greatest heritability (0.49). Calves can be effectively pen scored as single animals or in groups up to 5 animals. The correlation between single animal and group pen scores was 0.79.<br /> Prenatal transportation stress applied on days 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140 of gestation resulted in:<br /> a. More temperamental calves on days 14 and 28 after birth and through weaning.<br /> b. Only minor differences in complete blood cell counts due to prenatal stress but significantly (<0.01) greater numbers of basophils and a tendency (P=0.10) for greater numbers of neutrophils in females compared with males.<br /> c. Response to vaccination in white blood cell counts was reduced in prenatally stressed heifers but not in bulls. <br /> d. Prenatal stress and temperament alter metabolic response to an endotoxin challenge in Brahman bull calves. Circulating glucose was greater in prenatally stressed calves and in temperamental calves. Following endotoxin challenge insulin was lower in prenatally stressed calves.<br /> <br /> Cows that received controlled energy (CE) diets during the last 3 wk prepartum had shorter days to pregnancy (DTP) than cows that consumed high energy (HE) diets in this time period, which may be attributable in part to increased NELI in the first 4 wk postpartum for cows that received CE diets in the close-up (CU) period. In addition, lower BCS loss in the first 6 wk and slightly greater glucose concentrations at wk 3 may have contributed to improved reproductive performance. Energy- limited cows had lower liver TG concentrations at wk 2, which led to fewer DTP. A strategy of CE prepartum may have a favorable impact on both health and reproductive performance. Research evaluating the impact of CE prepartum on more specific reproduction variables, such as progesterone concentrations, ovarian function, time to first ovulation, and embryonic death is needed.<br /> Objective 2: Development and application of methodologies to improve animal health, well-being, and reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants in order to allow sustainable operation of production systems in the western United States. <br /> Administration of FSH increased the number of follicles aspirated, oocytes collected, proportion of grade 1 to 3 oocytes, and number of grade 1 to 3 oocytes per cow. Administration of FSH, however, did not affect the ability of the oocyte to cleave or develop into a blastocyst or affect the characteristics of subsequently developed blastocysts. Reducing progesterone concentrations during follicular development increased the number of follicles present at aspiration but did not impact quality of oocytes recovered or the ability of the oocytes recovered to cleave and develop into a blastocyst. Of interest, blastocysts generated from oocytes collected in cows with low progesterone concentrations were advanced in development had greater number of blastomeres following in vitro embryo production.<br /> In beef heifers, reducing progesterone concentrations within an ultrasound-guided ovum pick-up protocol that included FSH administration resulted in more oocytes collected and increased the number of grade 1 to 3 oocytes recovered per female.<br /> It was demonstrated that a majority of Bos indicus (Nelore) heifers will conceive at one year of age and rebreed effectively as primiparous cows with sufficient nutritional management and hormonal intervention.

Publications

Impact Statements

1. Demonstrated that with management and genetic selection, Bos indicus females are capable of calving at 2 years of age versus 3 years of age. This will save ~$500 per heifer for the producer and increases life time economic efficiency 6-10%.
2. Prenatal stress (stress to the pregnant female) reduces profitability of the calves due to increased temperamental dispositions and reduced response to vaccination. The value of these calves is reduced by at least 10% from the value of unstressed calves.
3. Collaborative efforts allowed rapid treatment of spermatozoa with magnetic nano-particles to remove defective spermatozoa and allow equal and high pregnancy rates with 50% reduction of the sperm dose used with artificial insemination in cattle. This allows production of twice the number of semen doses per ejaculate for dissemination of superior genetics. This effort also impacts human assisted reproductive therapies, wherein sperm quality biomarkers can be used for accurate diagnosis of male infertility and clinician decision making.
4. Multistate, institutional, and investigator approach towards the reduction in average date of conception rate in the breeding season by 10-15% in beef cattle through the development of improved estrous synchronization approaches that has increased the reproductive efficiency and production profitability of beef cattle production systems.
5. Enhanced the understanding of how phenotypical, physiology, and endocrine characteristics, including antral follicle count, growth rate and efficiency, follicular growth patterns, stress response, and estrous expression impacts on reproductive competence.
6. Determined influence of endocrine environment during follicular development on oocyte competence to translate to improved methods of estrous synchronization, multiple ovulation protocols, and in vitro embryo production.

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Report Information

Participants

Shipka, Milan - University of Alaska Fairbanks; Ashley, Ryan - New Mexico State University; Alexander, Brenda - University of Wyoming; Lemley, Caleb - Mississippi State University; Gentry, Glen - Louisiana State University; Stevens, John - Utah State University; Cupp, Andrea - University of Nebraska; Nett, Terry - Colorado State University; Rowell, Janice - University of Alaska Fairbanks; Smith, George - Michigan State University; Geary, Tom - USDA-ARS Fort Keogh, Montana; Bridges, Allen - University of Minnesota; Govoni, Kristen - University of Connecticut

Brief Summary of Minutes

The Chair, Ryan Ashley called the meeting to order at 8:00 am on Monday, June 10, 2014. Attendees were asked to introduce themselves and give updates from their institutions. The timeline and meeting’s activities were discussed by Milan Shipka. Milan stated that registration would be free since the department was providing lunch. Dinner would be at a clam bake for $20 each. At 4pm we would go on a tour of the Fairbanks Experiment Station.

At 9:30 am a conference call with Mark Mirando and Adele Turzillo took place. They reviewed the documents provided (see attached reports). Two new programs (CARE and Exploratory) were empathized as well as a new program for water agriculture.

At 10 am:
There was discussion about output from the group through a producer symposium by the end of 2015. BIF was not an option for 2014. Suggestions for other options included a symposium at the Western Section meetings in 2015. There may need to be a focus on educating extension specialists if at the Western Section Meeting. It was suggested to do both (Symposium at Western Section and Two speakers at BIF). Motion was make by Allen Bridges to contact BIF for speakers for 2015 and work with Western Section ASAS to organize a pre-conference symposium with speakers from W2112 group. Ryan Ashley seconded the motion. Discussion: Brenda Alexander asked how travel for speakers would be funded. Alan B. said it would align with the meeting so travel to one place for both. Vote: Motion passed unanimously.
Alan Bridges discussed the estrous synchronization handbook and asked if a printed publication should be distributed at meetings. It was suggested to split the handbook in sections and get a formal pdf format and bring hard copies to meetings as needed. Members were asked to edit the document Alan emailed to everyone and send edits by August 2014.

At 10:30am: Milan provided more detail about meeting events. We would break at 3:15 and meet at 3:30 for a tour of the large animal research station. Dinner would follow at the Salmon Bake.
Nominations for Member-at-Large: Allen Bridges (nominated by Tom G. and second by Brenda A.). Voted: motion passed

The rest of the morning was spent on experiment station reports from: Wyoming, Mississippi and Louisiana

12:05: Lunch break

1:00pm: Station reports: Utah, Nebraska, Colorado, Michigan, Montana, Minnesota

3:05pm: Adjourned


Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Ryan Ashley called the meeting to order at 8:10am. Janice Rowell from Fairbanks, AK joined the meeting. Station reports: Connecticut, Alaska, New Mexico

10:10: Break and discussion of collaborations

Collaborations Between Stations:
Nebraska and Mississippi State will evaluate liver samples from low and high A4 cows to determine potential differences in metabolism. Nebraska and Univ of Minnesota will evaluate samples of follicular fluid in cows from his herd for androstenedione levels to determine if different herds also have a sub-population of cows that might have differences in androgen in follicular fluid. Nebraska and New Mexico State University will evaluate follicular fluid from cows in the herd at New Mexico to determine androgen levels and work on VEGFA isoforms and helping with reagents related to examining VEGFA’s role in placenta development.
Connecticut and New Mexico and Mississippi will collaborate to determine the effects of maternal over and under nutrition during gestation on development of placentomes during 3 time points of gestation. Connecticut and Utah will collaborate on data analysis of RNA-Seq analysis of muscle samples from offspring from mothers subjected to poor nutrition during gestation.
Colorado and Montana will measure INF tau in samples from the vena cava of cows with catheter placed near site of drainage of utero-ovarian vein into vena cava. Colorado will also collaborate with Montana to develop a treatment of heifers with antiestrogens to attempt to induce early puberty Colorado will collaborate with Michigan State to measure INF tau in samples from cows treated with follistatin. Colorado will potentially collaborate with Connecticut to evaluate brain tissue in ewes subjected to over and under nutrition during gestation on changes in kisspeptin and GnRH.

11:35: Impact Statements were discussed. Final statements:
1. Improving average date of conception and reduce incidence of embryonic mortality in cattle through enhanced understanding endocrine, follicular, and managerial factors that impact reproductive competence.
2. Developed a maternal nutrition model to evaluate mechanism of impact of maternal nutrition on offspring and evaluate methods and/or therapeutics to improve production efficiency.
3. Enhanced the understanding of how phenotypical, physiology, and endocrine characteristics, including antral follicle count, nutritional, follicular growth patterns, stress response, steroidogenesis and estrous expression impacts on reproductive competence.
4. The state of anestrus (prepubertal and postpartum) has the greatest negative effect on reproductive efficiency in cattle and sheep. Therefore, the recent development of methods to shorten the duration of anestrus in livestock, such as the use of anti-estrogen compounds, could improve breeding season pregnancy rates, improve the average date of conception, and offspring performance in cattle and increase fecundity in sheep.
5. Development of a technique to cause temporary cessation of reproduction in elk to reduce over population and competition with domestic livestock to improve grazing opportunities for local producers...

12:20: Meeting was adjourned.

Accomplishments

Objective 1: Discover and translate molecular, metabolic, genomic, endocrine, and immunologic mechanisms that influence testicular and ovarian function, reproductive behavior, conception rate, embryo and fetal development, attainment of puberty, and effects of climate/season on reproductive patterns of domestic ruminants.<br /> mvGST: Multivariate and Directional Gene Set Testing 1)Developed an R package (mvGST) p-values from multiple tests of differential expression on each gene, and identify biological processes with specific activity differences in multiple comparisons. This approach will allow greater statistical power in confirmatory identification of biological processes that are differentially active while making fewer Type I errors. Association between coefficient of inbreeding and abortion, stillbirth, and calf survival in muskoxen). Examination of the coefficient of inbreeding in this herd of muskoxen that began with capture of 16 muskox and has been managed as a closed herd for 34 years showed relatively low (< .33) calculated COI, but demonstrated little genetic variation using DNA microsatellite marker profiles. BMP receptors and their associated SMAD proteins during bovine early embryonic development: effects of exogenous BMP2 on embryo developmental progression Investigation of the role of oocyte-derived follistatin in early embryogenesis support the utility of follistatin treatment as a potential tool to increase efficiency of in vitro embryo production and embryo quality and provides a viable platform to aid studies of the contribution of poor oocyte quality to infertility in cattle in a production setting. Evaluate the cytokine response pre and post experimental challenge of Epizootic Bovine Abortion in a group of naïve cattle and a group previously exposed to the pathogen. Expression of nitric oxide synthase is elevated by day three of infection with the agent of Epizootic Bovine Abortion (aoEBA) in heifers that abort as compared to heifers producing live calves. In heifers with successful pregnancies, TNFa and Il-4 expression became elevated during the first week of pregnancy and remained higher during the remainder of the experiment. aoEBA prior to pregnancy and determine if bacterial load prior to pregnancy can have an effect on maintenance of pregnancy. A serum titer of <200 appears to correlate with abortion of the fetus in pregnant cattle following infection with the aoEBA, while titers of >800 may be indicative of a protective immune response. Titers concentrations and a humoral immune response alone may not protect a developing bovine fetus from abortion following infection with the aoEBA. Hepatic steroid metabolizing enzyme activity during early, mid, and late bovine pregnancy Contrary to expected results, hepatic glucuronosyltransferase and liver blood flow were increased in pregnant versus non-pregnant dairy cows, while luteal blood perfusion was unaltered. <br /> Effects of dietary melatonin supplementation during late gestation on uterine artery hemodynamics in Holstein heifers Dietary melatonin supplementation increased total uterine artery blood flow and serum antioxidant capacity in late pregnant Holstein heifers. This pathway could be used to improve uterine blood flow during periods of oxidative stress. Pre-breeding beef heifer management on mid to late gestation uteroplacental hemodynamics Late gestation uterine blood flow is unaltered in heifers bred at 50 to 55% mature body weight compared to traditionally developed heifers. Uterine blood flow during late gestation appears to be enhanced by distillers grain supplementation when forage quality is low. Nutritional inputs to beef cows have the potential to alter the expression patterns of various genes in the uterine endometrium, which may contribute to reduced fertility in beef cows in inadequate body condition. Effects of change in body composition on oocyte competence When assessed by in vitro embryo production procedures, fluctuating body composition in beef cows did not impact oocyte competence. Chemokine ligand twelve (CXCL12) protein in ovine placenta increases during early gestation and may play a role in maternal-fetal crosstalk. The increase of CXCL12 expression in fetal extraembryonic membranes suggests CXCL12 plays a role in communication at the fetal-maternal interface. Because CXCL12 promotes proper invasiveness in an autocrine manner and stimulates cell proliferation in human trophoblast cells, we suggest CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling is playing a role in maternal-fetal communication and possibly contributing to fetal attachment and subsequent placentation. hCG administration in ewes post mating on production of proteins important for steroidogenesis and placentation. Treatment of ewes with hCG increase serum progesterone concentrations and several factors associated with implantation and placentation. Systemic delivery of interferon-tau (IFNT) protects the ovine corpus luteum against lytic actions of prostaglandin F2? (PGF) and Activation of interferon-gamma and associated signal transduction pathways during establishment of fetal persistent infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. FNT protects early pregnancy in ruminants through paracrine action on the endometrium and also through endocrine action on the CL and peripheral blood cells through enhancing luteal resistance to PGF. A highly specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for ovine IFNT, which has different levels of detection in uterine flushing compared to serum. Induction of IFN-? coincides with a decrease in BVDV RNA concentrations in blood and tissues from fetuses persistently infected with BVDV. Presence of an adaptive immune response in persistent BVDV infection may contribute to reduction of viremia, but is not robust enough to clear the virus in PI fetuses. Placental-fetal interactions Placental lactogen has been investigated for nearly 50 years, yet a direct function or relative importance has never been established. We now have the tools in hand to create transgenic placenta in sheep that we utilized for the direct assessment of the impact of placental lactogen deficiency on sheep fetal growth near term (135 dGA). This technology can also be applied to other genes expressed within the ruminant placenta and/or fetus. Investigate molecular, cellular, and endocrine mechanisms that limit or control reproductive efficiency in domestic ruminants. Seasonal anestrus limits the reproductive capacity of sheep to a single pregnancy per year. We have shown that an anti-estrogen is capable of inhibiting the hypersensitivity of the hypothalamus to estradiol at the end of seasonal anestrus, and has the potential to extend the length of breeding season. This treatment might be a reasonably simple mechanism for obtaining two lamb crops in one year. Elk and deer populations are substantial in many parts of the west and often utilize much of the same habitat as domestic livestock. This leads to the potential for disease transmission. Treatment with Gonacon inhibits the females ability to reproduce for 2-3 years. It has the potential for remote (dart) delivery and could be used to manage wildlife populations in areas where there is interaction with domestic livestock. Decreased Expression of Cholesterol Uptake and Increased Expression of Cholesterol Efflux Genes are Associated with the Late Stages of Luteolysis in Sheep In agriculturally important species PGF2? is the known luteolysin and these data implicate a mechanism that may mediate PGF2?-induced luteolysis. Effects of environmental contaminants on ovarian function Appropriate levels of 17?-estradiol are required for overall female reproduction. A phthalate known to be present in feed disrupts steroidogenesis and expression of genes involved in DNA damage and cell cycle regulation in mice without affecting weight gain and organ weights. Transcriptome Expression Profiles Identify Proliferation and Metabolic Dysfunction in Intrauterine Growth Restricted Fetal Sheep Islets High throughput RNA sequencing identified multiple pathways that reduced ?-cell mass and impair insulin secretion responsiveness in IUGR fetal sheep islets. Elevated norepinephrine protects from greater loss of ?-cell mass in intrauterine growth restricted ovine fetuses High plasma norepinephrine concentrations protect ?-cells from adverse conditions in placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses. Late gestation adiposity and increased expression of brown adipose tissue (BAT) linked genes in fetuses of obese sheep are returned to control levels by diet reduction Maternal obesity resulted in increased fetal adiposity, and brown adipose tissue (BAT), which could be returned to control levels by an early diet reduction (OBI) during gestation. The development of a greater amount of BAT prior to birth may confer a survival advantage to newborn OB offspring in cold environments, but this remains to be tested. Correction of maternal obesity (MO) in pregnant sheep by diet reduction increases adipocyte expression of leptin, and up regulates the growth hormone (GH) / insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 axis to control levels. Pituitary GH, liver IGF-1, and PAT leptin expression were reduced (P < 0.05), and IGF-1 Receptor expression elevated (P < 0.05) in OB fetuses when compared to control fed and OBI fetuses which were similar. Increased adiposity experienced by MO offspring may be programmed by reduced in utero leptin stimulation of the GH/IGF-1 axis, which can be corrected by gestational diet reduction.Multi-generational Impact of Maternal Overnutrition/Obesity in the Sheep on the Neonatal Leptin Surge in Granddaughters Newborn lambs born to OB vs. control fed (CON, 100% of NRC) ewes exhibited greater adiposity, increased blood cortisol, insulin and glucose and the elimination of the postnatal leptin spike seen in lambs born to CON ewes. This early postnatal leptin peak is necessary for development of hypothalamic circuits which program appetite in later life. Blood concentrations of glucose, insulin, and cortisol were higher in OBF2 lambs than CONF2 lambs at birth, in association with increased adiposity. Importantly, OBF2 lambs failed to exhibit the early postnatal leptin peak exhibited by CONF2 lambs. Maternal overnutrition/obesity (MO) has multigenerational metabolic programming effects on adult grandsons (F2). In sheep, a large monotocous, precocial species with similarities to humans, maternal obesity has multigenerational effects in which the F2 generation exhibit increased weight gain and insulin resistance in response to ad libitum feeding as adults. These studies provide strong evidence that the optimization of maternal nutrition and the associated uterine environment will contribute to the birth of healthy, growth-efficient offspring, which is vital to livestock production efficiency. Further, recent data demonstrate that the negative metabolic effects of maternal obesity are observed in their children and grandchildren. Dopamine Synthesis in the Ventral Tegmental Area in Rams with High or Low Libido Although differences in dopamine synthesis do not appear to be the cause of poor sexual performance in rams, differences in dopamine synthesis appear to differ due to exposure to sexual stimuli in sexually active rams. If these differences hold with increased observations, poor sexual behavior is likely not due to a lack of dopamine synthesis. Quality of the sexual stimuli may influence dopamine synthesis and subsequent reward. Simulated self-enurination induces flehmen but does not affect serum LH concentrations in male goats Self-urination in buck goats increases flehmen response, but does not increase serum concentrations of LH. Self-urination does not appear to act through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to increase sexual excitement. Temporal patterns of energy-related metabolites, metabolic hormones, and progesterone concentrations, and intake and lambing rates in Rambouillet ewes selected for high and low reproductive rate.Genomic differences between Rambouillet sheep selected for high and low reproductive rate Continued selection for high and low reproductive rate in Rambouillet sheep appears to be related to distinct genetic differences between these lines. Perhaps the outcome of these genetic differences influence litter size and alter circulation concentrations of progesterone during gestation. Whatever the mechanism(s) it now appears that selection for high reproductive rate has increased the efficiency of production, in that, it required less nutrient input to produce more kilograms of lamb per ewe. Use of bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) to predict late embryonic mortality in beef cows. Late embryonic mortality (> d 28 of gestation) has been reported in both beef/dairy cattle and may vary from 3.2 to 42.7%. The majority of these losses occur around the time that placentomes are beginning to form (~d 35-40 of gestation). The use of a monoclonal antibody to rapidly purify bovine pregnancy-associated glycoproteins. Our preliminary studies revealed that cows that exhibited late embryonic mortality after day 28 of gestation had decreased circulating concentrations of pregnancy associated glycoproteins (bPAG) on day 28. These observations permitted the development of a cutoff model to accurately predict late embryonic mortality. The use of magnetic nanoparticles for bull semen purification and improvement of AI outcome. The objective of semen purification experiments is to enhance bull semen quality by removing defective and/or prematurely capacitated spermatozoa prior to cryopreserving semen for artificial insemination. To achieve this depletion with anti-ubiquitin antibody and/or lectin conjugated magnetic particles, we have developed and validated an industrial scale protocol for magnetic depletion of defective spermatozoa from bull semen, prior to dilution of semen in cryoprotectants. This technology can increase conception rates after AI and allow for the reduction of sperm number per AI dose. The use of PAWP protein as a biomarker of sperm quality and fertility in bulls. Correlations between sperm PAWP protein levels and conventional semen and fertility parameters indicate that it will be possible to standardize the PAWP-based assay and to establish a threshold and a range for acceptable PAWP content in individual sires—any sires producing semen with values above or below this level would be considered abnormal and likely have decreased fertility. Thus, PAWP is a suitable candidate-biomarker of sperm quality and fertility due to its correlations with standard fertility parameters in the AI industry.. Expression of the long form of the leptin receptor in bovine oviduct epithelial, uterine epithelial and blastocyst stage embryos.Bovine oviduct and uterine epithelial cells and blastocyst stage bovine embryos express the long form of the leptin receptor. This indicates that there may communication and between the embryo and the gravid uterus utilizing the long form of the leptin receptor. Cooperativity among uterine paracrine factors in promoting bovine trophoblast cell proliferation Multiple hormones found in the uterus during early pregnancy act cooperatively to impact several key facets of early conceptus development. Potential role of leptin as a mediator of placental development and function in cattle Leptin impacts the expression of several trophoblast genes involved with peri- and post-implantation events. Maturation of bovine oocytes in the presence of bovine follicular fluid appears to benefit cumulus expansion but its effects on fertilization and subsequent embryonic development is not apparent. Creation of Equine Trophoblast Cells by somatic cell reprogramming An equine trophoblast cell line has been established through the spontaneous differentiation of mesenchymal cells provided a cocktail of stemness factors. PGRMC1 Mediates Progesterone-­?Induced Chemoresistance in Breast Cancer Cells and Facilitates Tumor Growth In Vivo and Conditional Pgrmc1 Deletion Results in Subfertility in the Female and Progression toward Endometrial Cancer. Conditional deletion of this gene in the uterus results in a subfertility phenotype stemming from faulty endometrial function shortly after embryo implantation. Female mice also display with cystic hyperplasia starting at 3 months of age. Conditional mutagenesis of Pgrmc1 from ovarian granuolosa cells results in increased follicular atresia and a concomitant decrease in the number of large antral follicles. Using endometrial and breast cell lines, PGRMC1 was shown to mediate the anti-­?mitotic and anti-­?apoptotic actions of progesterone. Stromal Derived Factor-­?1 Gene and Its Role in Early Mammalian Pregnancy. E2A and HEB are Indispensable Transcriptional Regulators of Pituitary and Uterine Physiology. The helix-­?loop-­?helix transcription factors encoded by the E2a and Heb genes are functionally required for female fertility. Conditional deletion of E2a and Heb results in disruption of LH production by the pituitary. Both the alpha and beta subunits of LH are blunted in E2a/Heb knockout mice. ChIP-­?PCR determined that the E2a protein product (i.e., E47) bound to E-­?box elements in critical genes that have been shown to be functionally necessary for uterine decidualization through mouse mutagenesis studies. Some of these genes include Wnt4, Hand2, Pgr, Foxo1A and Hoxa10. Understanding the Transcriptome and Secrotome of Uterine Glands in Mice During Early Pregnancy. The uterine and pregnancy-­?specific gene Mrgprg was found to be expressed in the gravid uterus in conjunction with several enzymes commonly associated with the renin-­?angiotensin-­?system (RAS). It is hypothesized that MRGPRG coordinates vascular changes at the implantation site. Dynamic changes in the gland transcriptome in the endometrium produce factors that govern uterine functions important for establishment of pregnancy. The identified genes and proteins may be useful as biomarkers of uterine receptivity and competency for pregnancy. Hydroxysteroid (11-­?Beta) Dehydrogenase 1 (HSD11B1) and HSD11B2 Loss-­?of-­?Function on Conceptus Survival and Elongation in Sheep. Inhibition of prostaglandin and cortisol synthesis compromised conceptus elongation during early pregnancy in sheep. PTGS2-­?derived prostaglandins and HSD11B1-­?derived cortisol mediates actions of ovarian progesterone and the conceptus on endometrial function and support the hypothesis that IFNT, PG, and cortisol coordinately regulate endometrial functions important for conceptus elongation and implantation during early pregnancy in sheep. Regeneration of the endometrium likely involves distinct mechanisms that include: 1) activation of a unique population of stem cells; and 2) mesenchymal-­?to-­?epithelial transition. An orthotopic transplantation model was developed to evaluate the functional characteristics of putative endometrial stem/progenitor cells. Prenatal stress influences the insulin response to a glucose challenge in yearling Brahman heifers Prenatal stress results in calves which are less insulin resistant than are normal control calves. Therefore they have lower insulinogenic indicators and return to basal glucose and insulin concentrations earlier following a glucose challenge. The effects of prenatal stress and temperament on feeding behavior in post-weaning Brahman bulls Prenatal stress failed to alter feeding behavior of Brahman bulls. Temperament did influence feeding behavior. As prenatal stress results in increased excitability of calves long term performance consequences of prenatal stress are possible. Factors influencing preweaning ultrasound body composition of Brahman calves The major factors influencing preweaning body composition and growth are gender, temperament and prenatal stress. A bovine model for polycycstic ovary High A4 have 13% reduced calving rate than low A4 and wean calves with 26lbs greater weaning weight. We are further characterizing these cows to determine if there is altered gonadotropin secretion, theca and granulosa cell gene expression or abnormal negative feedback of steroid hormones. These are models for women with PCOS and are looking at ability to translate what we find in the cow to human disorders of androgen excess. Effect of high and low antral follicle count in pubertal beef heifers on in vitro fertilization (IVF) We are continuing to determine how Antral Follicle counts affects fertility by evaluating IVF on heifers with high and low AFCs. We will need to increase the number of cows utilized in the study in order to determine differences.Antral follicle counts have been demonstrated to be involved in increasing a females fertility but our studies could provide a mechanism of how AFC’s affect IVF and oocyte quality/competence. Granulosa Cell Gene Expression Profiling in Cows with Divergent Follicular Fluid Concentrations of Androgens We have conducted microarray analysis on granulosa cells from high and low A4 cows within our herd to determine differences in gene expression and pathway analysis. These data have given us some avenues to evaluate differences in granulosa cell mechanisms which may affect androgen production and thus fertility in these cows. Transient treatment of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A (VEGFA) isoforms in vivo affects testis composition and mRNA abundance of genes that regulate the self-renewal of undifferentiated spermatogonia and survival in the perinatal rat testes. Rats treated transiently during the perinatal period with either angiogenic VEGFA isoforms or antiangiogenic isoforms had differences in testis composition (seminiferous cords vs intersitium) had alterations in genes regulating the spermatogonial stem cell niche and apoptotic processes. We may be able to manipulate male fertility by understanding how administration of VEGFA angiogenic or antiangiogenic isoforms affects SSC homeostasis and how this then can increase spermatogenic capacity of males. Male-specific region of the bovine Y chromosome is gene rich with a high transcriptomic activity in testis development and Male fertility evaluation with a custom-made 384-SNP chip in cattle. Characterization of the bovine and ovine Y chromosome sequence, organization, gene content, and gene copy number variations provides important comparative mapping information for studying Y chromosome biology and evolution, and resources for developing male-specific genetic markers that will allow us to identify high and low fertility bulls in a sire selection program. The PRAME/PRAMEY gene family is essential for acrosome formation and male fertility, which provide insights into the molecular mechanism of acrosome biogenesis and spermiogenesis. <br /> Objective 2: Development and application of methodologies to improve animal health, well-being, and reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants in order to allow sustainable operation of production systems in the western United States. <br /> Evaluation of uterine capacity for pregnancy in beef heifers. Associations on BTA3 (P=2.3x10-5) and BTA6 (P=5.8x10-5) differentially exist between highly fertile and infertile heifers using an allelic test. Using these fertility-selected heifers should be useful to discover and understand the hormonal, cellular, and molecular mechanisms governing uterine receptivity and pregnancy success and provide biomarkers of uterine competency for pregnancy and fertility. Evaluation of increasing longevity of females on cow herd productivity. Cow age specific culling and BW data from commercial and research herds demonstrate a potential for annual increases of 20% weight of total calf crop and 10% in cull cow weight by reducing replacement rate from 20 to 15% clearly justify the need improve cow retention rates. The Effect of the Initial GnRH and Dose of PGF2? on Pregnancy Rate to TAI in Beef Heifers Submitted to the 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR Program Omission of the initial GnRH treatment in the 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR program did not influence TAI pregnancy rate in yearling beef heifers. Moreover, an additional dose of PGF at CIDR removal did not improved fertility in these yearling beef heifers, regardless of whether or not the initial GnRH treatment was given. Comparison of two gonadorelin formulations and two luteolytic agents on pregnancy rates in beef cattle synchronized with a 5-d CO-Synch + CIDR program The use of gonadorelin diacetate tetrahydrate plus dinoprost tromethamine (CON) resulted in similar FTAI PR when compared to gonadorelin acetate plus cloprostenol sodium (PAR). Serum hormone profiles and pregnancy rates in Rambouillet ewes treated with dexamethasone during early pregnancy Administering 1 mg of dexamethasone daily for 5 d to ewes beginning 10 d after breeding resulted in reduced pre-weaning weight responses of offspring. Evaluating pregnancy rates from timed? artificial insemination with or without GnRH at timed AI as a response to a heat mount detector patch in beef cattle.<br /> Timed AI pregnancy rates are similar for cows that receiving a second injection of GnRH at TAI compared with cows exhibiting estrus prior to insemination and not receiving a second GnRH injection in a CO?SYNCH plus CIDR protocol. Mature beef cows exhibiting estrus prior to insemination tended to have greater pregnancy rates compared with those females not exhibiting estrus. The effect of follicle stimulating hormone in a modified CO?Synch synchronization protocol on subsequent pregnancy rates of crossbred beef cattle. Administration of FSH ten days prior to FTAI in CO?Synch plus CIDR synchronized mature crossbred beef cows failed increase subsequent pregnancy rates as has been reported in heifers. Comparison of Two artificial insemination methods for white?tailed deer Laparoscopic insemination pregnancy rates tended to be greater than transcervical pregnancy rates in white?tailed deer. Genome-­?wide Association Study and Endometrial Transcriptomics of Fertility-­? Classified Beef Heifers. Identification of genomic loci associated with fertility in beef and dairy heifers and cows is useful to create genetic tools to increase the fertility of cattle and thus profitability of cattle enterprises. <br /> Milestones: Regional, national and international interactions with producer groups<br /> 1. Global perspectives on beef production: Where do we go from here? Presented at 1st International Meeting on Animal Reproduction. Fazenda Esplanada, BR (2013). Presentation to approximately 100 large producers and veterinarians. <br /> 2. Fertility of heterospermic semen in vivo and in vitro. Presented at The XVII Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. Uberlandia, BR (2013). Presentation to approximately 800 producers, veterinarians, students and allied industry.<br /> 3. Should Nelore or Nelore crossbred heifers calve at 2 years of age or later? Presented at The XVII Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. Uberlandia, BR (2013). Presentation to approximately 900 producers, veterinarians, students and allied industry.<br /> 4. Beef Industry Perspectives. Presented at 2013 Select Sires National Sales Conference. Columbus, OH(2013). Presentation to approximately 400 AI industry personnel. <br /> 5. Cattle physiology and the CO-Synch + CIDR synchronization program. Presented at Society for Theriogenology Annual Conference and Symposia. Lexington, KY (2013). Presentation to approximately 100 veterinarians.<br /> 6. Management factors that affect the success of AI programs in beef cattle. Presented at Society for Theriogenology Annual Conference and Symposia. Lexington, KY (2013). Presentation to approximately 100 veterinarians.<br /> 7. Teglas - Cattlemen's Update, January 6 - 10, 2014. Reno, Fallon, Ely, Elko, Winnemucca, Nevada.<br /> 8. Lachman, M. M., J. D. Swartz, J. G. Berardinelli, and C. J. Yeoman. 2014. Probiotic supplemented bum lambs perform as well as natural lambs in 95 d feed trial. 2014 Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, Bozeman, MT. Poster.<br /> 9. Herrygers, M. R., R. Garrott, C. Butler, and J. G. Berardinelli. 2014. Pregnancy rate and metabolites in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) at the end of breeding season and in mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) before the breeding season and the first trimester of pregnancy. 2014 Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, Bozeman, MT. Poster.<br /> 10. Spence, K., A. Vogstad, K. Perz , M. Hoyt , B. Stokes, J. G. Berardinelli, J. G. P. Bowman, P. A. Grieco, and G. C. Duff. 2014. Effects of feeding high-linoleic acid supplement on the distribution of estrus and temporal concentrations of PGFM in pubertal beef heifers. 2014 Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, Bozeman, MT. Poster.<br /> 11. Swartz, J. D., J. G. Berardinelli, J. M. Thomson, M. Lachman, K. Westveer, M. R. Herrygers. R. W. Kott, P. G. Hatfield, and C. J. Yeoman. 2014. Rambouillet ewes bred for improved reproductive rate consume less TDN per kg of lamb born. 2014 Montana Nutrition Conference and Livestock Forum, Bozeman, MT. Poster.<br /> 12. Cattle Reproduction takes another step toward a brighter future by Jasmine Rogers; Nebraska: The Epicenter of Global Beef Production. Strategic Discussions for Nebraska. P. 28-29.<br /> 13. The Future is Bright- Dr. Andrea Cupp- YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kPl-UbXMkg. Strategic Discussion for Nebraska.<br /> 14. McFee RM, RA Artac, AF Summers, WE Pohlmeier, VM Brauer, SG Kurz, RA Cushman, FR Wood, AS Cupp. Follicular vascular endothelial growth factor A expression before and after the LH surge. Nebraska Beef Cattle Report. 2014.<br /> 15. Summers AF, WE Pohlmeier, FM Brauer, KM Sargent RM McFee, SG Kurz, RA Cushman, JR Wood, AS Cupp. Androgen Excess in Beef Cows Results in Altered Theca Cell Gene Expression and Fertility. Nebraska Beef Cattle Report. 2014.<br /> 16. Summers AF, DM Larson, AS Cupp. Preconception Distillers Grains Supplementation Improves Mature Beef Cow Return to Estrous. Nebraska Beef Cattle Report 2014.<br />

Publications

1. Abreu, F. M., L. H. Cruppe, M. Maquivar, M. D. Utt, C. A. Madsen, M. L. Mussard, J. L. M. Vasconcelos, M. L. Day and T. W. Geary. 2014. The effect of follicle age on conception rate in beef heifers. J. Anim. Sci. 92:1022-1028.<br /> <br /> 2. Abreu, F. M., T. W. Geary, L. H. Cruppe, C. A. Madsen, E. M. Jinks, K. G. Pohler, J. L. M. Vasconcelos, and M. L. Day. 2014. The effect of follicle age on pregnancy rate in beef cows. J. Anim. Sci. 92:1015-1021.<br /> <br /> 3. Alvarez-Gallardo, H., M.E. Kjelland, J.F. Moreno, T.H. Welsh, Jr., R.D. Randel, M. Perez-Martinez, A.V. Lara-Saghan, A.E. Esperon-Sumano and S. Romo. 2013. Gamete Therapeutics: Recombinant protein adsorption for increasing fertility via artificial insemination. PLOSONE 8(6)e 65083 doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0065083.<br /> <br /> 4. Antoniazzi, A.Q., B.T. Webb, J.J. Romero, R.L. Ashley, N.P. Smirnova, L.E. Henkes, R.C. Bott, J.F. Oliveira, G.D. Niswender, F.W. Bazer, and T.R. Hansen. 2013. Endocrine delivery of interferon-tau protects the corpus luteum from prostaglandin F2 alpha-induced luteolysis in ewes. Biology of Reproduction. 88(6):144. <br /> <br /> 5. Atkins, J.A., M. F. Smith, M. D. MacNeil, E. M. Jinks, F. M. Abreu, L. J. Alexander, and T.W. Geary, 2013, Pregnancy establishment and maintenance in cattle, J. Anima. Sci. 91:722- 733.<br /> <br /> 6. Atkins J.A., K.G. Pohler, and M.F. Smith. 2013. Physiology and endocrinology of puberty in heifers. In: Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice. D.J. Patterson and M.F. Smith (Eds.) R.A. Smith Consulting Editor, Elsevier, Philadelphia, p 479-492.<br /> <br /> 7. Bas S., Maquivar M.G., Coutinho da Silva M.A., Day M.L., Daglio M.C., Harguindeguy S., Titler M., and G.M. Schuenemann, "Effect of intrauterine administration of gonadotropin releasing hormone with glycerol on serum LH concentrations in lactating dairy cows". Anim. Reprod. Sci. 145:15-22. 2014. <br /> <br /> 8. Blanchard, M.T., M.L. Anderson, B.R. Hoar, A. Pires, P. Blanchard, B. Yeargan, M.B. Teglas, M. Belshaw, J.L. Stott. (2014). Assessment of an immunofluorescence assay for the detection of antibodies against epizootic bovine abortion (EBA). Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation. Accepted – revisions submitted<br /> <br /> 9. Bridges, G. A., M. L. Day, T. W. Geary, and L. H. Cruppe. 2013. Deficiencies in the uterine environment and failure to support embryo development. J. Anim. Sci. 91:3002-3013.<br /> 10. Bridges G.A., Mussard M. L., Helser L. A. and M. L. Day, "Comparison of follicular dynamics and hormone concentrations between the 7-day and 5-day CO-Synch + CIDR program in primiparous beef cows". Theriogenology 81:632-638. 2014. <br /> <br /> 11. Bridges, G.A., S.L. Lake, S.G. Kruse, S.L. Bird, B.J. Funnell, R. Arias, J.A. Walker, J.K. Grant, and G.A. Perry. Comparison of three CIDR-based fixed-time AI protocols in beef heifers. J. Anim. Sci. Accepted.<br /> <br /> 12. Burns G, Brooks K, Wildung M, Navakanitworakul R, Christenson L, Spencer TE. Extracellular vesicles in luminal fluid of the ovine uterus. PLoS One 2014; Mar ?10;9(3):e90913. <br /> <br /> 13. D. J. Burton, P. A. Ludden, R. H. Stobart, B.M. Alexander. Fifty years of the Wyoming Ram Test: How sheep have changed. Professional Animal Scientist. In Review.<br /> <br /> 14. Caldwell, J. D., K. P. Coffey, J. A. Jennings, D. Philipp, A. N. Young, J. D. Tucker, D. S. Hubbell, T. Hess, M. L. Looper, C. P. West, M. C. Savin, M. P. Popp, D. L. Kreider, D. M. Hallford, and C. F. Rosenkrans. 2013. Performance by spring and fall-calving cows grazing with full, limited, or no access to toxic Neotyphodium coenophialum-infected tall fescue. J. Anim. Sci. 91: 465-476.<br /> <br /> 15. Chang, T.-C., Yang, Y., Retzel, E., Liu, W.-S. (2013) Male-specific region of the bovine Y chromosome is gene rich with a high transcriptomic activity in testis development. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110(30), 12373-12378.<br /> <br /> 16. Craig ZR, Singh J, Gupta RK, Flaws, JA. Co-treatment of mouse antral follicles with 17?-estradiol interferes with mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP)-induced atresia and altered apoptosis gene expression. Reprod Toxicol 2014; 45:45-51. <br /> <br /> 17. Chen, X., A.S. Green, A.R. Macko, D.T. Yates, A.C. Kelly, S.W. Limesand (2014). Enhanced Insulin Responsiveness and Islet Adrenergic Desensitization after Discontinuing Chronic Norepinephrine Suppression in Fetal Sheep. American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism 306(1):E58-64.<br /> <br /> 18. Cooke PS, Bartol FF, Hayashi K, Spencer TE. Uterine glands: development, function ?and experimental model systems. Mol Hum Reprod 2013; 19(9):547-­?558. <br /> <br /> 19. Day ML and Nogueira GP, "Management of age at puberty in beef heifers to optimize efficiency of beef production". Animal Frontiers. Vol. 3, 6-11. 2013.<br /> <br /> 20. Dobbs KB, Khan FA, Sakatani M, Moss JI, Ozawa M, Ealy AD and Hansen PJ (2013). Regulation of pluiripotency of inner cell mass and growth and differentiation of trophectoderm of the bovine embryo by colony stimulating factor 2. Biol. Reprod. 89:141<br /> <br /> 21. Dorniak P, Welsh TH Jr, Bazer FW, Spencer TE. Cortisol and interferon tau ?regulation of endometrial function and conceptus development in female sheep. ?Endocrinology 2013; 154:931-­?941. <br /> <br /> 22. Dorniak P, Bazer FW, Spencer TE. Physiology and Endocrinology Symposium: ?biological role of interferon tau in endometrial function and conceptus elongation. J ?Animal Sci 2013; 91:1627-­?16 <br /> <br /> 23. Dorniak P, Spencer TE. Biological roles of progesterone, prostaglandins and interferon tau in endometrial function and conceptus elongation in ruminants. ?Animal Reproduction 2013; 10(3):239-­?251. <br /> 38. <br /> <br /> 24. Elliott, L. M., J. L. Parcell, D. J. Patterson, M. F. Smith, and S. E. Poock. 2013. Factors influencing beef reproductive technology adoption. Journal of the ASFMRA 76:100-119.<br /> <br /> 25. Filant J, Spencer TE. Endometrial glands are essential for blastocyst implantation ?and decidualization in the mouse uterus. Biol Reprod 2013; 88(4):93. <br /> <br /> 26. Filant J, Spencer TE. Cell-­?specific transcriptional profiling reveals candidate genetic mechanisms regulating development and function of the uterine glands in mice. Biol ?Reprod 2013; 89:86. <br /> <br /> 27. Filant J, DeMayo FJ, Pru JK, Lydon JP, Spencer TE. Fibroblast growth factor two ?(FGFR2) regulates uterine epithelial integrity and fertility in mice. Biol Reprod ?2013; 90:1-­?11. <br /> <br /> 28. Filant J, Lydon JP, Spencer TE. Integrated chromatin immunoprecipitation ?sequencing and microarray analysis. FASEB J 2014; 28:230-­?243. <br /> <br /> 29. Forde N, McGettigan PA, Mehta JP, O’Hara L, Mamo S, Bazer FW, Spencer TE, Lonergan P. Global proteomic analysis of uterine luminal fluid during the pre-­? implantation period of pregnancy in cattle. Reproduction 2014; (accepted and in ?press). <br /> <br /> 30. Forde N, Simintiras C, Sturmey R, Mamo S, Kelly A, Spencer TE, Bazer FW, Lonergan ?P. Amino acid composition of uterine luminal fluid reflects temporal changes in expression of their transporters in the endometrium and conceptus during early pregnancy in cattle. PLoS One 2014; (accepted).<br /> <br /> 31. Forde N, Mehta JP, McGettigan PA, Mamo S, Bazer FW, Spencer TE, Lonergan P. ?Alterations in expression of endometrial genes coding for proteins secreted into the ?uterine lumen during conceptus elongation in cattle. BMC Genomics 2013; 14:321. <br /> 32. Folger JK, Jimenez-Krassel F, Ireland JJ, Lv L, Smith GW. Regulation of granulosa cell cocaine and amphetamine regulated transcript (CART) binding and effect of CART signaling inhibitor on granulosa cell estradiol production during dominant follicle selection in cattle. Biol Reprod 2013; 89:137.<br /> <br /> 33. Ge W., N. Hu, L.A. George, S.P. Ford, P.W. Nathanielsz, X.M. Wang, J. Ren. 2013. Maternal nutrient restriction predisposes ventricular remodeling in adult sheep offspring. J. Nutr. Biochem. 24(7):1258-65.<br /> <br /> 34. Geary, T. W., M. F. Smith, M. D. MacNeil, M. L. Day, G. A. Bridges, G. A. Perry, F. M. Abreu, J. A. Atkins, K. G. Pohler, E. M. Jinks, and C. A. Madsen. 2013. Influence of follicular characteristics at ovulation on early embryo survival. J. Anim. Sci. 91:3014-3021. <br /> <br /> 35. Gentry, G., L. Gentry and R.Godke. 2013. The effect of exogenous follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and endogenous plasma leptin concentrations on the pregnancy rate of beef heifers subjected to fixed? timed artificial insemination (FTAI). Anim. Reprod. Sci. 138: 49?54.<br /> <br /> 36. Gonzalez, J.M., L.E. Camacho, S.M. Ebarb, K.C. Swanson, K.A. Vonnahme, A.M. Stelzleni, and S.E. Johnson. 2013. Realimentation of nutrient restricted pregnant beef cows support compensatory fetal muscle growth. Journal of Animal Science. 91:4797-4806.<br /> <br /> 37. Grant, J. K., P. L. Steichen, C. L. Wright, K.A. Vonnahme, M. L. Bauer, J.S. Jennings, and G. A. Perry. 2013. Influence of nitrogen and sulfur intake on bovine uterine pH throughout the luteal phase. Journal of Animal Science. 91:1186-1192. <br /> <br /> 38. Gunn, P.J. R.P. Lemenager, G.A. Bridges. 2014. Using corn stover and dried distiller’s grains with solubles to conserve stockpiled forages and improve reproductive performance and progeny growth fall-calving beef cows. Professional Anim. Sci. Accepted.<br /> <br /> 39. Gunn, P.J., J.P. Schoonmaker, R.P. Lemenager, and G.A. Bridges. Feeding excess crude protein to gestating and lactating beef heifers: Impact on parturition, milk composition, ovarian function, reproductive efficiency and pre-weaning progeny growth. Livestock Science. Accepted.<br /> <br /> 40. Gunter, S. A., P. A. Beck, and D. M. Hallford. 2013. Effects of supplementary selenium source on the blood parameters in beef cows and their nursing calves. Biol. Trace Elements Res. 152: 204-211.<br /> <br /> 41. Hansen, T.R., J.J. Romero, A.Q. Antoniazzi, R.C. Bott, R.L. Ashley, B.T. Webb, L.E. Henkes, N.P. Smirnova. 2013. Endocrine conceptus signaling in ruminants. Animal Reproduction. (3):311-321.<br /> <br /> 42. Hansen TR, Pru JK. Isgylation: A conserved pathway in mamallian pregnancy. In: Posttanslational modifications in reproductive system. Springer 2014; In Press.<br /> <br /> 43. Harris, E.K., E.P. Berg, E.K. Berg, and K.A. Vonnahme. 2013. Effect of maternal activity during gestation on maternal behavior, fetal growth, umbilical blood flow, and farrowing characteristics in pigs. Journal of Animal Science. 91:734-744. <br /> <br /> 44. Hart, N.J., W.J. Chung, K. Ananthakrishnan, M. Anderson, R. Patek, Z. Zhang, S.W. Limesand, J. Vagner, and Ronald M. Lynch (2014). Heterobivalent GLP-1/Glibenclamide for Targeting Pancreatic Beta-cells. ChemBioChem 15(1):135-45. doi: 10.1002/cbic.201300375. <br /> <br /> 45. Hoffman, M. L., Rokossa, M. A., Zinn, S., Hoagland, T., Govoni, K. Poor maternal nutrition during gestation in sheep reduces circulating concentrations of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 in offspring. Domestic Animal Endocrinology. Accepted May 2014. In Press.<br /> <br /> 46. Isom S.C., Stevens J.R., Li R., Spollen W., Cox L., Spate L., Murphy C., and Prather R. (2013) “Transcriptional profiling by RNA-Seq of peri-attachment porcine embryos generated using a variety of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).” Physiological Genomics 45(14):577-589.<br /> <br /> 47. Jinks, E. M., M. F. Smith, J. A. Atkins, K. G. Pohler, G. A. Perry, M. D. MacNeil, A. J. Roberts, R. C. Waterman and T. W. Geary, 2013, Preovulatory estradiol and the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in suckled beef cows, J. Anim. Sci. 91:1176-1185.<br /> <br /> 48. Kandadi M.R., Y. Hua, M. Zhu, S. Turdi, P.W. Nathanielsz, S.P. Ford, S. Nair, J. Ren. 2013. Influence of gestational overfeeding on myocardial proinflammatory mediators in fetal sheep heart. J. Nutr. Biochem. 24(11):1982-1990.<br /> <br /> 49. Kelly, A.C., L.V. Steyn, M.J. Anderson, J. Kitzmann, K. Mueller, N.J. Hart, R.M. Lynch, K.K. Papas, and S.W. Limesand (2014). Function and Expression of Sulfonylurea, Adrenergic, and Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptors in Isolated Porcine Islets. Xenotransplantation (Epub). doi: 10.1111/xen.12101. <br /> <br /> 50. Kennedy CE, Krieger KB3, Sutovsky M, Xu W, Vargovic? P, Didion BA, Ellersieck MR, Hennessy ME, Verstegen J, Oko R, Sutovsky P (2014) Protein expression pattern of PAWP in bull spermatozoa is associated with sperm quality and fertility following artificial insemination. Mol Reprod. Dev., 81(5): 436-49.<br /> <br /> 51. Kurz, SG, KL Dennison, NM Samanas, MP Hickman, TL Walker, AS Cupp and JD. Shull. Ept7 Influences Estrogen Action in the Pituitary Gland and Body Weight of Rats. Mamm Genome. 2014 Jan 22. . [Epub ahead of print].<br /> <br /> 52. Lee KB, Wee G, Zhang K, Folger JK, Knott JG, Smith GW. 2014. Functional role of the bovine oocyte-specific protein JY-1 in meiotic maturation, cumulus expansion and subsequent embryonic development. Biol Reprod 90:69.<br /> <br /> 53. Lekatz, L.A., J.S. Luther, J.S. Caton, and K.A. Vonnahme. 2013. Impacts of maternal nutritional plane on umbilical artery hemodynamics, fetal and placentome growth in sheep. Animal Reproduction. 10:99-105.<br /> <br /> 54. Lemley, C. O., L. E. Camacho, and K. A. Vonnahme. 2013. Uterine infusion of melatonin or melatonin receptor antagonist alters ovine feto-placental hemodynamics during mid-gestation. Biology of Reproduction. 89:40, 1-9. <br /> <br /> 55. Lemley, C. O., L. E. Camacho, A. M. Meyer, M. Kapphahn, J. S. Caton, and K. A. Vonnahme. 2013. Dietary melatonin supplementation alters uteroplacental amino acid flux during intrauterine growth restriction in ewes. Animal. 7:1500-1507. <br /> <br /> 56. Lemley, C. O., A. M. Meyer, T. L. Neville, D. M. Hallford, L. E. Camacho, K. R. Maddock-Carlin, T. A. Wilmoth, M. E. Wilson, G. A. Perry, D. A. Redmer, L. P. Reynolds, J. S. Caton, and K. A. Vonnahme. 2014. Dietary selenium and nutritional plane alter specific aspects of maternal endocrine status during pregnancy and lactation. Domest. Anim. Endocrinol. 46: 1-11.<br /> <br /> 57. Long N.M., D.T. Smith, S.P. Ford, P.W. Nathanielsz. 2013. Elevated glucocorticoids during ovine pregnancy increase appetite and produce glucose dysregulation and adiposity in their granddaughters in response to ad libitum feeding at 1 year of age. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 209(4):353.e1-9.<br /> <br /> 58. Long, N. M., N. Tuersunjiang, L. A. George, C. O. Lemley, Y. Ma, W. J. Murdoch, P. W. <br /> Nathanielsz, S. P. Ford. 2013. Maternal nutrient restriction in the ewe from early to midgestation programs reduced steroidogenic enzyme expression and tended to reduce progesterone content of corpora lutea, as well as circulating progesterone in nonpregnant aged female offspring. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 11:34. <br /> <br /> 59. Long N.M., S.P. Ford, P.W. Nathanielsz. 2013. Multigenerational effects of fetal dexamethasone exposure on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis of first- and second-generation female offspring. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 208(3):217.e1-8.<br /> <br /> 60. Lu, N, KM Sargent, DT Clopton, WE Pohlmeier, VM Brauer, RM McFee, JS Weber, N Ferrara, DW Silversides, AS Cupp. Conditional loss of Sertoli and germ cell vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) isoforms causes alterations in genes regulating spermatogonial stem cell homeostasis in male mice Endocrinology. 2013 Dec;154(12):4790-802. doi: 10.1210/en.2013-1363. Epub 2013 Oct 29. PMCID:PMC3836063.<br /> <br /> 61. Mao, D, H. Xiaoying, H. Talbott, R Cushman, A Cupp, JS Davis. ATF3 Expression in the Corpus Luteum: Possible Role in Luteal Regression. Mol Endocrinol. 2013 Dec;27(12):2066-79. doi: 10.1210/me.2013-1274. Epub 2013 Nov 6.<br /> <br /> 62. Martins T, Peres R.F., Rodrigues A.D., Pohler K.G., Pereira M.H., Day M.L., Vasconcelos J.L., "Effect of progesterone concentrations, follicle diameter, timing of artificial insemination, and ovulatory stimulus on pregnancy rate to synchronized artificial insemination in postpubertal Nellore heifers". Theriogenology 81:446-453. 2014.<br /> <br /> 63. McCoski SR, Xie M, Hall EB, Mercadante PM, Spencer TE, Lonergan P and Ealy AD (2014). Validation of an interferon stimulatory response element reporter gene assay for quantifying type I interferons. Domest. Anim. Endocrinol. 47:22-26.<br /> <br /> 64. McFee, RM, Bott RC, Lu NX, AS Cupp. Role of Angiogenesis in development of the ovary. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2013;25(2):333-42.. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID:23021322. No PMCID because open access.?<br /> <br /> 65. Mercadante PM, Waters KM, Mercadante VR, Lamb GC, Elzo MA, Johnson SE, Rae DO, Yelich JV and Ealy AD (2013). Subspecies differences in early fetal development and plasma pregnancy-associated glycoprotein concentrations in cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 91:3693-3701.<br /> <br /> 66. Meyer, A.M., T.L. Neville, J.J. Reed, J.B. Taylor, L.P. Reynolds, D.A. Redmer, C.J. Hammer, K.A. Vonnahme, and J.S. Caton. 2013. Maternal nutritional plane and selenium supply during gestation impacts visceral organ mass and intestinal growth and vascularity of neonatal lamb offspring. Journal of Animal Science. 91:2628-2639.<br /> <br /> 67. Minten MA, Bilby TR, Bruno RGS, Allen CC, Madsen CA, Wang Z, Sawyer JE, Bauersachs S, Neibergs HL, Geary TW, Spencer TE. Effects of fertility on gene ?expression and function of the bovine endometrium. PLoS One 2013; 8(8): e69444. <br /> <br /> 68. Mottet, R. S., C. O. Lemley, K. A. Vonnahme, and E. L. Berg. 2013. Lipoic acid decreases progesterone clearance in ovariectomized ewes. Animal Reproduction. 10:112-118.<br /> <br /> 69. Mulliniks, J. T., R. C. Waterman, and T. W. Geary. 2013. Economics of early weaning in Northern Great Plains beef cattle production system. Agricultural Science 4:219-233.<br /> <br /> 70. Minten, M. A., T. R. Bilby, R. G. S. Bruno, C. C. Allen, C. A. Madsen, Z. Wang, J. E. Sawyer, A. Tibary, H. L. Neibergs, T. W. Geary, S. Bauersachs, and T. E. Spencer. 2013. Effects of Fertility on Gene Expression and Function of the Bovine Endometrium. PLoS ONE 8(8):e69444. <br /> <br /> 71. Nash, J.M., D.A. Mallory, M.R. Ellersieck, S.E. Poock, M.F. Smith, and D.J. Patterson. 2013. Comparison of long-term controlled internal drug release-based protocols to synchronize estrus and ovulation in postpartum beef cows. J. Anim. Sci. 91:3168-3176<br /> <br /> 72. Nathanielsz P.W., S.P. Ford, N.M. Long, C.C. Vega, L.A. Reyes-Castro, E. Zambrano. 2013. Interventions to prevent adverse fetal programming due to maternal obesity during pregnancy. Nutr. Rev. 71 (Suppl 1):S78-87.<br /> <br /> 73. Neville, T.L, A.M. Meyer, A. Reyaz, D.A. Redmer, P.P. Borowicz, L. P. Reynolds, J.S. Caton, and K.A. Vonnahme. 2013. Effects of dietary selenium and nutritional plane during gestation on mammary gland growth, cellular proliferation, and vascularity in ewe lambs. Journal of Animal Science Biotechnology. 4:6 (http://www.jasbsci.com/content/4/1/6)<br /> <br /> 74. O’Hara L, Forde N, Carter F, Rizos D, Maillo V, Ealy AD, Kelly AK, Rodriguez P, Isaka N, Evans AC and Lonergan P (2014). Paradoxical effect of supplementary progesterone between day 3 and day 7 on corpus luteum function and conceptus development in cattle. Reprod. Fertil. Devel. 26:328-336. <br /> <br /> 75. Oliver, M., Nader, G., Maas, J., Blanchard, M., Stott, J., Teglas, M. B., Bushnell, R. (2013). Management Alternatives To Minimize Foothill Abortion. The Progressive Rancher, July/August, 20-23.<br /> <br /> 76. Ozawa M, Yang QE and Ealy AD (2013). The expression of fibroblast growth factor receptors during early bovine conceptus development and pharmacological analysis of their actions on trophoblast growth in vitro. Reproduction 145:191-201. <br /> <br /> 77. Patterson D.J., J.M. Thomas, N.T. Martin, J.M. Nash, and M.F. Smith. 2013. Control of estrus and ovulation in beef heifers. In: Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice. D.J. Patterson and M.F. Smith (Eds.) R.A. Smith Consulting Editor, Elsevier, Philadelphia, p 591-617.<br /> <br /> 78. Patterson AL, Pru JK. Long-­?term label retaining cells localize to distinct regions within the female reproductive epithelium. Cell Cycle. 2013; 12:2888-­?2898. PMID: 24018418<br /> <br /> 79. Peluso JJ, Pru JK. Non-­?canonical progesterone signaling in granulosa cell function. Reproduction 2014;147:R169-­?178. PMID: 24516175 <br /> <br /> 80. Pohler, K. G., M. F. Smith, C. L. Johnson, J. A. Atkins, E. M. Jinks, D. C. Busch J. A. Green, M. D. MacNeil, and T. W. Geary. 2013. Circulating bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins (bPAGs) are associated with late embryonic/fetal survival but not ovulatory follicle size in suckled beef cows. J. Anim. Sci. 91:4158–4167.<br /> <br /> 81. Powers JG, Monello RJ, Wild MA, Spraker TR, Gionfriddo JP, Nett TM, Baker DL. 2014. Effects of GonaCon immunocontraceptive vaccine in free-ranging female Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni). Wildlifde Soc Bull. May 19, 2014 epub ahead of print.<br /> <br /> 82. Prezotto, L.D., C.O. Lemley, L.E. Camacho, F.E. Doscher, A.M. Meyer, J.S. Caton, K.A. Vonnahme, and K.C. Swanson. 2013. Effects of nutrient restriction and melatonin supplementation on maternal and fetal hepatic and small intestinal energy utilization. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpn.12142/pdf<br /> <br /> 83. Pru JK, Clark NC. PGRMC1 and PGRMC2 in uterine physiology and disease. Front Neurosci. 2013; 7:168. PMID: 24065879 <br /> <br /> 84. Quinn, K.E., A.K. Ashley, L.P. Reynolds, A.T. Grazul-Bilska, R.L. Ashley. 2014. Activation of the CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling axis may drive vascularization of the ovine placenta. Domestic Animal Endocrinology. 47:11-21.<br /> <br /> 85. JE Rowell, MP Shipka, SC Gerlach, J Greenberg, T Paragi. 2013. Sustainable Livestock Production in Alaska; Workshop Report. Published by the UAF Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. USDA Award # 2011-68004-20091. Technical Report – Misc. 13-04.<br /> <br /> 86. Rajput SK, Lee K, Zhenhua G, Di L, Folger JK, Smith GW. Embryotropic actions of follistatin: paracrine and autocrine mediators of oocyte competence and embryo developmental progression. Reprod Fertil Dev 2013; 26:37-47.<br /> <br /> 87. Reed, S. A., Raja, J. S., Hoffman, M. L., Zinn, S., Govoni, K. Poor maternal nutrition inhibits muscle development in ovine offspring. Revisions submitted to Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology.<br /> <br /> 88. Reynolds, L. P., K. A. Vonnahme, C. O. Lemley, D. A. Redmer, A. T. Grazul-Bilska, P. P. Borowicz, and J. S. Caton. 2013. Maternal stress and placental vascular function and remodeling. Current Vascular Pharmacology. Hot topic issue ‘Uteroplacental Circulation and Fetal Vascular Function and Development’. ?L. Zhang (ed.). 11:564-593.<br /> <br /> 89. Romero JJ, Antoniazzi AQ, Smirnova NP, Webb BT, Yu F, Davis JS, Hansen TR. Pregnancy-associated genes contribute to antiluteolytic mechanisms in ovine corpus luteum. Physiol Genomics 2013; 45:1095-1108.<br /> <br /> 90. Schmidt, S.E., D.A. Neuendorff, D.G. Riley, R.C. Vann, S.T. Willard, T.H. Welsh, Jr. and R.D. Randel. 2014. Genetic parameters of three methods of temperament evaluation of Brahman calves. J. Anim. Sci. 92:1-6. doi:10.2527/jas2014-7494.<br /> <br /> 91. Scheffler, J.M., M.A. McCann, S.P. Greiner, H. Jiang, M.D. Hanigan, G.A. Bridges, S.L. Lake, and D.E. Gerrard. 2014. Early metabolic imprinting events increase marbling scores in fed cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 92:320-324.<br /> <br /> 92. Schueler, J.L,. B.M. Alexander, A.M. Hart, K.J. Austin, and D.E.Larson-Meyer. 2013. Presence and Dynamics of Leptin, GLP-1, and PYY in Human Breast Milk at Early Postpartum. Obesity. 21(7):1451- 1458 Epub ahead of print http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23408760.<br /> <br /> 93. Seabrook, J.L., J.D. Cantlon, A.J. Cooney E.E. McWhorter, B.A. Fromme, G.J. Bouma, <br /> 94. R.V. Anthony, and Q.A. Winger. 2013. Role of LIN28A in mouse and human trophoblast cell differentiation. Biol Reprod 89(4):95, 1–13.<br /> <br /> 95. Shipka, MP, JE Rowell, SC Gerlach, J Greenberg, and T Paragi. (in press) Sustainable Livestock Systems for Alaska: Production, Processing, and Marketing. Proceedings of the 8th Circumpolar Agriculture Conference and the Inaugural Northern Food Summit.<br /> <br /> 96. Shipka, MP and JE Rowell. (2013). Physiological mechanisms during variable gestation length in reindeer. Proceedings of the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science 64:372-375.<br /> <br /> 97. Shipka, MP and JE Rowell. 2013. Review of reproductive biology and associated behavior in farmed muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus). IVJornadas Uraguayas de Comportamiento Animal Libro de Resumenes (Proceedings of the 4th Uruguayan Congress on Animal Behavior) 4:19.<br /> <br /> 98. Smith GW and Median R. 2014. Ever changing cell interactions during the lifespan of the corpus luteum: Relevance to luteal regression. Reprod Biol 14:75-82.<br /> <br /> 99. Smirnova N, Webb BT, McGill JL, Schaut RG, Bielefeldt-Ohmann H, Van Campen H, Sacco RE, Hansen TR. Induction of interferon-gamma resp;onse during establishment of fetal persistent infection with bovine viral diarrhea virus. Virus Res 2014; 183:95-106.<br /> <br /> 100. Sohel MH, Hoelker M, Nofersti S, Salilew-­?Wondim D, Tholen E, Looft C, Rings F, Uddin J, Spencer TE, Schellander K, Tesfaye D. Exosomal and non-­?exosomal transport of circulatory microRNAs in follicular fluid: Implications for bovine oocyte ?developmental competence. PLoS One 2013; 8(11):e78505. <br /> <br /> 101. Spencer TE, Forde N, Dorniak P, Hansen TR, Romero JJ, Lonergan P. Conceptus-derived prostaglandins regulate gene expression in the endometrium prior to pregnancy recognition in ruminants. Reproduction 2013; 146:377-387.<br /> <br /> 102. Spencer TE. Early pregnancy: insights to challenges and potential solutions. Animal ?Frontiers 2013; 3(4):40-­?47. <br /> <br /> 103. Spencer TE, Filant J. Uterine glands: biological roles in conceptus implantation, ?uterine receptivity, and decidualization. Int J Dev Biol 2014; (accepted and in press). <br /> <br /> 104. Stapp, A. D., C. A. Gifford, D. M. Hallford, and J. A. Hernandez-Gifford. 2014. Evaluation of steroidogenic capacity after follicle stimulating hormone stimulation in bovine granulosa cells of revalor 200 implanted heifers. J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol. 5: 1-6.<br /> <br /> 105. Stapp, A. D., B. I. Gomez, C. A. Gifford, D. M. Hallford, and J. A. Hernandez-Gifford. 2014. Canonical WNT signaling inhibits follicle stimulating hormone mediated steroidogenesis in primary cultures of rat granulosa cells. PLoS ONE 9 (1) e86432: 1-9.<br /> 106. Summers A, WE Pohlmeier, VM Brauer, K Sargent, RA Cushman, AS Cupp, JR Wood. Bovine females with low granulosa cells steroidogenic efficiency have theca cells with PCOS-like phenotypes and altered genes controlling oocyte function. (in review with PLOS1).?<br /> <br /> 107. Sutovsky P, Kennedy C. E. (2013) Biomarker-based nanotechnology for the improvement of reproductive performance in beef and dairy cattle. Indust. Biotech. 9: 24-30.<br /> <br /> 108. Talbott, H, A Delaney, P Zhang, Y Yu, RA. Cushman, AS Cupp, X Hou, JS Davis. Effects of IL8 and Immune Cells on the Regulation of Luteal Progesterone Secretion. Reproduction. 2014 Mar 31. [Epub ahead of print].<br /> <br /> 109. Thompson IM, Tao S, Branen J, Ealy AD and Dahl GE (2013). Environmental regulation of pregnancy-specific protein B concentrations during later pregnancy in dairy cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 91:168-173.<br /> <br /> 110. Tripurani SK, Wee G, Lee KB, Smith GW, Wang L, Yao J. MicroRNA-212 post-transcriptionally regulates oocyte-specific basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor, factor in the germline alpha (FIGLA), during bovine early embryogenesis. PLoS ONE 2013; 8:e76114.<br /> <br /> 111. Tuersunjiang N., J.F. Odhiambo JF, N.M. Long, D.R. Shasa, P.W. Nathanielsz, S.P. Ford. 2013. Diet reduction to requirements in obese/overfed ewes from early gestation prevents glucose/insulin dysregulation and returns fetal adiposity and organ development to control levels.?Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 305(7):E868-E878.<br /> <br /> 112. Utsumi, S. A., A. F. Cibils, R. E. Estell, S. A. Soto-Navarro, L. Chen, and D. M. Hallford. 2013. Effects of adding protein, condensed tannins, and polyethylene glycol to diets of sheep and goats fed one-seed juniper and low quality roughage. Small Rum. Res. 112: 56-68.<br /> <br /> 113. Van Emon, M.L., K.A. Vonnahme, P.T. Berg, R.R. Redden, M.M. Thompson, J.D. Kirsch, and C.S. Schauer. 2013. Influence of level of dried distillers grains with solubles on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, serum testosterone concentrations, and spermatozoa motility and concentration of growing rams. Journal of Animal Science. 91:5821-5828.<br /> <br /> 114. Vonnahme, K.A., T.L. Neville, L.A. Lekatz, L.P. Reynolds, C.J. Hammer, D.A. Redmer, and J.S. Caton. 2013. Thyroid hormones and cortisol concentrations in offspring are influenced by maternal supranutritional selenium and nutritional plane in sheep. Nutrition and Metabolic Insights. 6:11-21.<br /> <br /> 115. Vonnahme, K. A., C. O. Lemley, P. Shukla, and S. T. O’Rourke. 2013. Placental programming: How the maternal environment can impact placental function. Journal of Animal Science. 91:2467-2480. <br /> <br /> 116. Vonnahme, K.A., T.L. Neville, G.A. Perry, L.P. Reynolds, D.A. Redmer, and J.S. Caton. 2013. Maternal diet alters organ mass, and endocrine and metabolic profiles in pregnant ewe lambs. Animal Reproduction Science. 141:131-141.<br /> <br /> 117. R. S. Walker, B. Buttrey, J. Gurie, and G. T. Gentry. 2014. Evaluating heat detector patch response to determine GnRH use at timed? artificial insemination on pregnancy rates in beef cattle. Prof. Anim. Scientist. (submitted 3/21/2014)<br /> <br /> 118. Wang X, Frank JW, Little DR, Dunlap KA, Satterfield MC, Burghardt RC, Hansen TR, Wu G, Bazer FW. Functional role of arginine during the per-implantation period of pregnancy. I. Consequences of loss of function of arginine transporter SLC7A1 mRNA in ovine conceptus trophectoderm. Faseb J 2014; March 13 epub ahead of print.<br /> <br /> 119. Webb BT, McGilvray KC, Smirnova NP, Hansen TR, Norrdin RW. Effects of in utero pestivirus infection on bovine fetal bone geometry, biomechanical properties and composition. Vet J 2013; 198:376-381.<br /> <br /> 120. Weems YS, Raney A, Pang J, Uchima T, Lennon E, Johnson D, Nett TM, Randel RD, Weems CW. 2013. Prostaglandin E1 or E2 (PGE1, PGE2) prevents premature luteolysis induced by progesterone given early in the estrous cycle in ewes. Theriogenology. 80:507-12.<br /> <br /> 121. Whitehurst, W. A., J. A. Paterson, M. M. Harbac, M. K. Petersen, G. C. Duff, T. W. Geary, G. I. Zanton, and T. J. Wistuba. 2014. Comparison of methionine hydroxy analogue chelated versus sulfate forms of copper, zinc, and manganese on growth performance and pregnancy rates in yearling beef replacement heifers. Prof. Anim. Sci. 30:62-67.<br /> <br /> 122. Yates, D.T., D.S. Clarke, A.R. Macko, M.J. Anderson, L.A. Shelton, M. Nearing, R.E. Allen, R.P. Rhoads, S.W. Limesand (2014). Myoblast from Intrauterine Growth- Restricted Sheep Fetuses Exhibit Intrinsic Deficiencies in Proliferation that Contribute to Smaller Semitendinosus Myofibers. Journal of Physiology (Epub). <br /> <br /> 123. Young, A. M., and D. M. Hallford. 2013. Validation of a fecal glucocorticoid metabolite assay to assess stress in the budgerigar (Melosittacus undulatus). Zoo Biol. 32: 112-116.<br /> <br /> 124. Yue, X.-P. , Chang, T.-C., DeJarnette, J. M., Marshall, C. E., Lei, C. Z., Liu, W.-S. (2013) Copy number variation of PRAMEY across breeds and its association with male fertility in Holstein sires. J. Dairy Sci. 96, 8024-34. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2013-7037.<br /> <br /> 125. Yue, X.-P. , Dechow, C. D., Chang, T.-C., DeJarnette, J. M., Marshall, C. E., Lei, C. Z., Liu, W.-S. (2014) Copy number variations of the extensively amplified Y-linked genes, HSFY and ZNF280BY, in cattle and their association with male reproductive traits in Holstein bulls. BMC Genomics 15(1), 113.<br /> <br /> 126. Yunusova, R., T.L. Neville, K.A. Vonnahme, C.J. Hammer, J.J. Reed, J.B. Taylor, D.A. Redmer, L.P. Reynolds, J.S. Caton. 2013. Impacts of maternal selenium supply and nutritional plane on visceral tissues and intestinal biology in offspring. Journal of Animal Science. 91:2229-2242.<br />

Impact Statements

1. Improving average date of conception and reducing incidence of embryonic mortality in cattle through enhanced understanding endocrine, follicular, and managerial factors that impact reproductive competence.
2. Developed a maternal nutrition model to evaluate mechanism of impact of maternal nutrition on offspring and evaluate methods and/or therapeutics to improve production efficiency.
3. Enhanced the understanding of how phenotypical, physiology, and endocrine characteristics, including antral follicle count, nutritional, follicular growth patterns, stress response, steroidogenesis and estrous expression impacts on reproductive competence.
4. The state of anestrus (prepubertal and postpartum) has the greatest negative effect on reproductive efficiency in cattle and sheep. Therefore, the recent development of methods to shorten the duration of anestrus in livestock, such as the use of anti-estrogen compounds, could improve breeding season pregnancy rates, improve the average date of conception, and offspring performance in cattle and increase fecundity in sheep.
5. Development of a technique to cause temporary cessation of reproduction in elk to reduce over population and competition with domestic livestock to improve grazing opportunities for local producers.

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Report Information

Participants

Govoni, Kristin kristen.govoni@uconn.edu University of Connecticut
Ashley, Ryan ryashley@ad.nmsu.edu New Mexico State University
Hallford, Dennis dhallfor@nmsu.edu New Mexico State University
Shipka, Milan mpshipka@alaska.edu University of Alaska
Cupp, Andrea acupp2@unl.edu University of Nebraska
Nett, Terry Terry.Nett@ColoState.EDU Colorado State University
Geary, Tom tom.geary@ars.usda.gov USDA-ARS Fort Keogh, Montana
Lemley, Caleb CLemley@ads.msstate.edu Mississippi State University
Craig, Zelieann zelieann@email.arizona.edu University of Arizona
Summers, Adam asummers@nmsu.edu New Mexico State University
Alexander, Brenda balex@uwyo.edu University of Wyoming
Liu, Wansheng wul12@psu.edu Pennsylvania State University
Cardoso, Phil cardoso2@illinois.edu University of Illinois
Vonnahme, Kim Kim.Vonnahme@ndsu.edu North Dakota State University
Berardinelli, James jgb@montana.edu Montana State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Friday June 26, 2015

The Chair, Kristen Govoni, called the meeting to order at 12:20 pm on Friday June 26, 2015. Kristen mentioned that Caleb would serve as the meeting secretary and chair the 2016 meeting. Next Kristen called for introductions of meeting participants. Ryan Ashley discussed dinner arrangements at 6 pm as well as maps to the restaurants and registration monies for lunch and differ. Kristen mentioned voting on a location for 2016 meeting and the group agreed that we should do this at the end of the day when more meeting participants have arrived.

Kristen requested participants to discuss news from each station at 12:35 pm. Each meeting participant discussed general news such as new hires and open positions at their stations.

At 1:30 pm the group contacted Mark Mirando for USDA updates and budget information from the handouts including an explanation on foundational programs, exploratory grants, and dual purpose with dual benefit USDA/NIH grants. More information can be found following the website links in the forwarded handouts.

At 2:40 pm Kristin asked Milan for an update on the W2112. Milan mentioned that the rewrite of the project is due and that we need to discuss what we want to accomplish for the next 5 years. We need to submit this rewrite to 2 – 4 potential reviewers in our field. If this acceptable then it goes to the multi-state regional committee. They send back edits to us and this all has to happen this year for submission to the Western states regional office by January of 2016. So this can be approved by June of 2016 and go into effect by October 1st of 2016. Milan mentioned that we should focus on some outreach, such as the Beef Symposium and presentations that Tom Geary assisted with setting up. Brenda asked what Milan would recommend for a good project/goals/objectives. The group discussed adding a few presentations for a Sheep Symposium attached to the Western ASAS sectional meeting. Also, Brenda mentioned that the group could write a review paper together. For example some of the members (especially new members) could assist with writing a review paper focusing on the groups’ research. Andrea discussed a joint sponsorship to hold a potential symposium with 2017 SSR/ASAS, which will be held in close proximity during 2017. Milan stated that we need to put a writing team together, with a good mixture of younger and older members. Tom Geary later mentioned that Mike Smith would be good to have on the rewriting committee.

At 3:00 pm, Kristin asked for station reports from group members that were in attendance for the meeting. Prior to station reports, Phil asked if we could discuss a format for station reports. For example PDF versus word document submissions. The group agreed that it would be best to submit station reports as word documents. Terry mentioned that we should only submit publication that are accepted and not to submit our publications that are in preparation or submitted. This could result in duplication of publications as titles may change following acceptance of these articles.

Station reports were then provided from Montana (USDA-ARS Fort Keogh), Alaska, and New Mexico.

The group took a break from station reports at 4:30 pm and Kim Vonnahme and Jim Berardinelli were introduced. Kristin mentioned again that the rewrite is a top propriety. Next Kristin asked for potential meeting locations. Brenda mentioned that maybe we should go back to Reno or Vegas to increase meeting participation. Milan would like to go to a campus or ARS location. Kristin mentioned UConn. Andrea mentioned Nebraska. The group agreed that we would vote on three locations: Las Vegas, Nebraska, and Connecticut.

Our next discussion focused on the new member at large. Andrea nominated Phil Cardosa and Kim seconded the nomination. No other nominations were brought forward and Phil Cardosa will be the secretary for 2016 meeting and chair the 2017 meeting.

Next we discussed the directions to the restaurant, the La Posta De Mesilla, where dinner will be held at 6 pm.

Tom asked if we wanted to discuss the rewrite. Milan mentioned the incorporation of outreach in the rewrite. Not necessarily just giving talks at meeting but incorporating other outreach projects and this needs to be incorporated among the group and not just focused on one person setting up a symposia. Several meeting participants mentioned that the Beef symposia was a success. Tom stated that the Beef symposia participants are writing review papers to JAS and that they will acknowledge W2112 in these review articles. Milan and Brenda said that it was a good mixture of research that was good for the Extension people at the meeting. Milan said this is a good thing to do, but we need to incorporate more participants in this outreach. Tom mentioned a symposia on animal handling and maybe we could do something on animal reproduction. Jim mentioned that the sheep symposia was almost disbanded and that this had to be rescued for this WASAS 2015 meeting. The group agreed that a W2112 Sheep symposia at the 2017 WASAS meeting would be a good outreach component for the rewrite and we could work with Kim to get the outreach component accomplished, as the 2017 WASAS is in Fargo, ND. Milan mentioned this could be a different venue from a scientific meeting, while Brenda brought up travel funding concerns and Kim mentioned a potential webinar for these outreach components. Phil requested Extension publications for outreach concerns in the rewrite and also the potential for a W2112 online booklet that could be published for free access to assist with outreach. Milan and Tom discussed the estrous synchronization handbook that is completed and will be published through an Extension website, potentially. Milan mentioned that this just needs to go electronic and others can print hard copies if they need it. Also the W2112 group can link this handbook to all experiment stations webpages. We need a small team to spearhead these assignments especially on the writing side of things. Kim mentioned a methods publication on Doppler ultrasonography and could cite W2112 as a participant. For example other publications/videos could be used for this outreach, which was mentioned by Zelieann.

Ryan moved to adjourn the meeting and several participants seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 5:08 pm.


Saturday June 27, 2015

Kristin Govoni called the meeting to order at 8:12 am. She wanted to discuss the rewrite and asked for volunteers. Tom, Andrea, Brenda, and Ryan volunteered to be on the rewrite team. Jim asked who was leading the re-writing team, and Brenda volunteered to lead the team. Milan asked the team members to keep himself and Caleb in the loop during the rewrite. Jim asked when the reviews would start and Milan mentioned that members of our field have to review our rewrite by January. Andrea asked when the deadline should be for our group to have the writing portion complete for review. Milan will confirm the dates and the team members should set up benchmark dates for that time. Brenda mentioned that the team should look into a Zoom conference for the rewrite. Milan requested that the group should plan to submit ideas for the next five years from group members that should be due in late summer. Brenda reiterated that outreach should be a primary focus for the rewrite. As discussed earlier, one outreach idea is a sheep symposia at Western sectional meeting in 2017 at Fargo, ND. Kim mentioned that a webinar could be used for this sheep symposia. Andrea said she could talk to Megan about setting up this outreach program. Kristin asked what are they looking for with outreach and Milan said that we could target Extension specialist and then ask them to take this information to producers. Brenda mentioned the estrous synchronization handbook; however, this should be up on experiment station websites prior to the rewrite; therefore the handbook will be an accomplishment for this 5 years. Kim mentioned the techniques Doppler paper that will be used as outreach for next 5 years. Milan reiterated that we need to make sure W2112 participants are committed to getting these outreach accomplishments finished. Continued discussion on outreach programs, and the group is focusing on the sheep symposia. Milan mentioned that we could accomplish this by 2018, which is a great milestone. The group needs to add presentations to their station reports so these can be compiled by the secretary for the annual report. Caleb will send out an email request to get these presentations. We can also add in work with SARE grants that incorporate produces into their programs. Milan requested that we need to focus on a spectrum of moving our benchtop/ basic research out to the producer from a translational approach. Milan then got off his soapbox. Kristin asked for anymore comments on the rewrite.

Dennis Hallford then introduced three NMSU graduate students that were joining the W2112 meeting.

Next thing on the list was to vote on a location, which was mentioned by Kristin. The potential suggestions were Las Vegas, Nebraska, and Connecticut. Next we discussed potential meeting dates. 6 members voted for Las Vegas. 4 voted for Nebraska. 4 votes for Connecticut. Therefore, the 2016 meeting will be held in Las Vegas. Milan requested May 20th through 21st for the 2016 meeting. Terry mentioned that it’s cheaper on Sunday and Monday. Therefore, participants asked to move the meeting to May 23rd through 24th (Monday and Tuesday). Kristin and Milan said that they could help Caleb with the meeting arrangements.

Ryan calculated the registration/food fees, which equals $45 per person.

Kristin requested that we move to station reports.

Station reports were then provided from North Dakota, Montana, Connecticut, Colorado, Arizona, and Nebraska.

Kristin called for a break for lunch at 11:52 am.

Kristin called for a resumption of station reports at 12:42 pm.

Station reports were then provided from Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and Illinois.

At 3:00 pm, Kristin asked meeting participants to get together and discuss collaborations. Caleb will compile the list of collaborations for the meeting.

Collaborations:
• Alaska and Miles City – Reindeer bull semen collection and analysis.
• Alaska and Montana State – Assay reindeer bull fecal testosterone using rutting bulls and progesterone concentrations in CIDR treated reindeer.
• Nebraska and Mississippi State – Liver enzyme in sporadic anovulatory and ovulating cows.
• Nebraska and New Mexico State (Ryan Ashley) – VEGF, CXCR4 reagents/immune function macrophage during organ development.
• Nebraska and New Mexico State (Adam Summers) – Effects of supplementation of AFC.
• Nebraska and Colorado State – Gonadotropin secretion.
• Nebraska, Wyoming (Brenda), New Mexico State (Adam), and Miles City (Tom) – Send data set for gestation of cows/heifers with easy calving, want all AI data.
• North Dakota State and Colorado State – Send dairy blood samples for interferon-tau assay.
• North Dakota State and Miles City – Placentome work in different ruminants.
• Montana State and Colorado – Placental lactogen concentrations at 50 and 80 days of pregnancy in divergent selection lines of Rambouillet ewes.
• North Dakota State and Mississippi State – Uterine blood flow techniques paper
• Montana State and New Mexico State (Dennis) – Effect of long-term progesterone treated ewes on IGF-1 and insulin concentrations.
• Penn State and Miles City – Hereford paternal lineage, copy number variation of PRAMEY in the Hereford L1 inbreeding line.
• Penn State and Missouri (Peter) – Use PRAMEY as biomarker for sperm quality evaluations in cattle.
• Miles City and Missouri (Mike Smith) – Effects of ovulatory follicle size on fertility in beef cows.
• Miles City and Missouri (Tom Spencer) – Genetic markers associated with uterine capacity for pregnancy.
• Miles City and Missouri (Peter Sutovsky) – Negative biomarkers associated with fertility in bulls.
• Miles City and Kansas State (David Grieger) – Managerial factors associated with fertility in peripubertal beef bulls.
• Miles City and Alaska – Negative biomarkers associated with fertility in reindeer and musk ox bulls.
• Miles City and New Mexico State (Ryan Ashley) – Roles of estrogen on CXCL/CXCR4 pathway in placental adhesion and implantation in cattle.
• Miles City, Missouri (Mike Smith), and Kentucky (Ky Pohler) – microRNA associated with early pregnancy and embryonic mortality in cattle.
• Connecticut and Mississippi State – Evaluation of metabolites in cotyledon, caruncle, and liver of ewes/offspring subjected to over and under-nutrition during gestation.
• Connecticut and New Mexico State (Ryan Ashley) – Evaluate expression and protein of factors in cotyledon and caruncle from ewes over and under fed during gestation. Determine changes in gene expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 in mesenchymal stem cells from offspring of ewes over and under fed during gestation. Furth determine the potential of CXCL12 to stimulate proliferation of cells.


At 3:50 pm, Kristen requested impact statements. Milan needs to submit impacts that we have come up with together as a group.

Accomplishments

Objective 1. Investigate molecular, cellular, and endocrine mechanisms that limit or control reproductive efficiency in domestic animals.<br /> <br /> Decreased Cholesterol Uptake and Increased Liver X Receptor-Mediated Cholesterol Efflux Pathways during Prostaglandin F2 Alpha-Induced and Spontaneous Luteolysis in Sheep.<br /> • Intracellular cholesterol supply controlled via the LXRs mediates luteolysis of the CL and therefore may serve as a target for modulating luteal function.<br /> • In agriculturally important species PGF2? is the known luteolysin and these data identify a novel mechanism that mediates PGF2?-induced luteolysis.<br /> <br /> Ovarian function following phthalate exposure. <br /> • We have identified ovarian processes that are targeted by phthalate-induced endocrine disruption.<br /> • Understanding how phthalates interact with ovarian follicles and the pathways that regulate their function will facilitate future studies aimed at mitigating their effects on reproduction. <br /> <br /> Inflammatory state of pancreatic islets and fetal adrenal demdullation in intrauterine growth restricted fetuses.<br /> • Placental insufficiency-induced IUGR fetuses have decreased expression of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines, which may regulate pancreatic endocrine function.<br /> • High throughput RNA sequencing identified multiple pathways that reduced ?-cell mass and impair insulin secretion responsiveness in IUGR fetal sheep islets.<br /> • High catecholamines inhibit fetal growth independent of hypoxemia, hypoglycemia and hypoinsulinemia. Furthermore, in IUGR fetuses chronically high plasma norepinephrine concentrations promote asymmetric growth in brain and heart but not pancreatic endocrine cell mass.<br /> • Fetal adrenal demedullation lowers circulating norepinephrine and attenuates growth restriction but not reduction of endocrine cell mass in IUGR sheep fetuses.<br /> <br /> Interferon-tau mediated responses and assay development. <br /> 1. We have additional data in sheep supporting the concept that IFNT protects early pregnancy through paracrine action on the endometrium and also through endocrine action on the CL and peripheral blood cells through enhancing luteal resistance to PGF. Preliminary studies in bovine suggest similar responses to IFNT in the CL.<br /> 2. A highly specific radioimmunoassay has been developed for ovine IFNT, which has different levels of detection in uterine flushing compared to serum. Unfortunately, this ovine assay may not recognize all forms of bovine IFNT and for this reason we are generating new reagents that will be used when developing a new radioimmunoassay and ELISA for IFNT in bovine tissues and fluids. <br /> 3. Development of a reliable and sensitive bovine IFNT radioimmunoassay would be useful when describing release from the conceptus and presence in bovine fluids such as uterine lumenal flushings. <br /> <br /> Transit and persistent bovine viral diarrhea virus infection. <br /> • Through clarifying exactly how BVDV persists, it may be possible to better manage biocontainment (detection) and treatment (antivirals), but also selection of breeding animals that are more resistant to viral infection. <br /> <br /> Placental lactogens: placental-fetal interactions. <br /> • The direct assessment of gene function within the placenta has not been feasible in non-rodent species, especially in ruminants. A good case in point is that the placental lactogen has been investigated for nearly 50 years, yet a direct function or relative importance has never been established. This is true for a plethora of genes expressed by the placenta. We now have the tools in hand to create transgenic placenta in sheep, that we utilized for the direct assessment of the impact of placental lactogen deficiency on sheep fetal growth near term (135 dGA). In the 50 years that we have known about PLs, this is the first direct evidence that it truly functions to augment placental and fetal growth. Furthermore, this technology can also be applied to other genes expressed within the ruminant placenta and/or fetus. <br /> <br /> Changes in hypothalamic kisspeptin and GnRH during the breeding and non-breeding season in sheep.<br /> • A radioimmunoassay has been developed that permits quantification of kisspeptin in the brain. This permitted us to show that the content of kisspeptin (rather than GnRH) changes throughout the year in sheep and is likely responsible for seasonal differences in reproductive activity. <br /> <br /> Prepartum nutritional strategy affects reproductive performance in dairy cows.<br /> 1. Formulating diets to meet requirements of the cows but avoid over-consumption of energy may improve outcomes of the transition period and lead to improved fertility. Management to improve cow comfort and ensure good intake of the ration is pivotal for success. <br /> 2. BW and BCS at breeding tended to increase as the plane of nutrition was increased during either mid- or late gestation. The plane of nutrition during mid- or late gestation did not affect cyclicity, concentrations of blood hormone, or embryo quality. However, when cows were fed diverging planes of nutrition during late gestation in Exp. 1, cows fed 70%REQ and REQ tended to have greater number of embryos recovered and embryos cleaved or degenerated when compared with cows that were fed 130%REQ. When cows were fed diverging planes of nutrition during mid- gestation in Exp. 2, cows fed 70%REQ and 130%REQ flushed a greater number of embryos when compared with cows fed 100%REQ. Feeding diverging planes of nutrition in either mid- or late gestation did not impact the number of embryos that were frozen.<br /> <br /> Role of oocyte-derived follistatin in early embryogenesis. <br /> • Investigation of the role of oocyte-derived follistatin in early embryogenesis supports the utility of follistatin treatment as a potential tool to increase efficiency of in vitro embryo production and embryo quality and provides a viable platform to aid studies of the contribution of poor oocyte quality to infertility in cattle in a production setting.<br /> <br /> Circulating microRNAs as biomarkers of early embryonic viability in cattle.<br /> • Because of the high incidence of pregnancy loss that occurs after fertilization but before pregnancies can be determined via ultrasound, identification of microRNA that are unique to presence of a viable embryo between d 17 and 27 will be valuable in mitigating these losses. Also, earlier identification of non-pregnant cows will allow for refinement of re-synchronization of estrus and AI in the beef and dairy industries.<br /> <br /> Role of ovulatory follicle size on pregnancy in beef cattle.<br /> • Identifying differences in gene expression between oocytes and follicular cells within ovulatory follicles associated with different levels of maturity will facilitate our understanding of the mechanisms involved and potentially, markers of the maturation process.<br /> <br /> Steroid metabolism in hepatic and reproductive tissues. <br /> 1. At day 10 post-insemination, CL blood perfusion was increased in pregnant dairy cows and decreased pregnant beef cows compared to non-pregnant cattle.<br /> 2. Interferon-tau and progesterone exposure decreased activity of CYP1A and CYP2C in a bovine endometrial cell line. These enzymes are involved in estradiol, progesterone and/or arachidonic acid metabolism, which could alter early signals for maintenance of pregnancy. <br /> 3. The increase in progesterone uteroplacental flux is related to both an increase in placental progesterone synthesis and a decrease in placental progesterone clearance. Alterations in estradiol uteroplacental flux could be mediated via cytochrome P450 enzymes that catalyze the conversion of estrogens to catechol-estrogens. <br /> <br /> Use of bovine pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs) to predict late embryonic mortality in dairy cows. <br /> • Late embryonic mortality (> d 28 of gestation) has been reported in both beef/dairy cattle and may vary from 3.2 to 42.7%. The majority of these losses occur around the time that placentomes are beginning to form (~d 35-40 of gestation). However, a way of predicting or studying late embryonic mortality has been lacking thus resulting in limited data on the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying these losses. In the present study, cows with day 31 PAG concentrations below 1.4 and 1.8 ng/mL (TAI and TET) resulted in a 95% chance of embryonic mortality. Therefore, PAG at day 31 of gestation seems to be a potential useful biomarker of late embryonic mortality and a possible model to help dissect this period of pregnancy loss in cattle. As mentioned previously the exact mechanisms that cause late embryonic mortality have been poorly examined based on the lack of a viable model for investigation. Thus these data provide a unique opportunity to select cows that will and will not experience embryonic mortality to beginning to dissect these biologically significant processes. <br /> <br /> Influence of long-term progesterone on feed efficiency and body composition in mature Rambouillet ewes. <br /> • The aforementioned study was performed as part of our hypothesis regarding the physiological changes that have occurred by continued selection for high and low reproductive rate in Rambouillet sheep. Last year we reported that there appears to be distinct genetic differences between these lines. Perhaps the outcome of these genetic differences influence litter size and alter circulation concentrations of progesterone during gestation, which in turn alters feed conversion mechanism, i.e., efficiency. Understanding the bases for these results would have far-reaching consequences for increasing reproductive efficiency and economic benefit for the agriculturally important ruminant in the Western States., and beef and dairy cattle industries in the U.S. in sheep, and perhaps, in ruminants.<br /> <br /> Uterine blood flow, calf, and placental weights from beef cows supplemented during late gestation. <br /> • Uterine blood flow during late gestation appears to be enhanced by distillers grain supplementation when forage quality is low. <br /> <br /> Mammary gland blood flow, colostrum/milk production and calf weights from beef cows supplemented during late gestation. <br /> • Mammary gland blood flow tends to be increased with distillers grain supplementation, but blood flow is similar by d 44 of lactation. Milk production tends to be increased.<br /> <br /> Cows with Intrafollicular Androgen Excess have Lower Sex Hormone Binding Globulin and appear to be Chronic or Sporadic Anovulatory. <br /> • We have identified a sub-population of cows within our UNL physiology research herd that have androstenedione (A4) excess within follicular fluid and have endocrine profiles and follicular dynamics that would suggest they are sporadic anovulatory. These high A4 have 17% reduced calving rate than low A4 and wean calves with 26lbs greater weaning weight. We have determined that they have differences in Sex Hormone Binding Globulin which will alter availability of Androgens and may impact follicular dynamics, ovulation and oocyte viability. We have also determined that after superovulation there are similar size follicles that are developed in these High and Low A4 cows but that the High A4 cows have reduced (by 50%) granulosa cell numbers.<br /> <br /> Granulosa Cell Cycle Regulation and Steroidogenesis in a High Androstenedione Follicular Microenvironment. <br /> • We have conducted microarray analysis on granulosa cells from high and low A4 cows within our herd to determine differences in gene expression and pathway analysis. These data demonstrated that granulosa cells are arrested in the cell cycle and have problems proliferating. Furthermore, there are factors secreted by the theca cells which may also inhibit granulosa cell proliferation.<br /> <br /> Sertoli cell-specific elimination of Vegfa impairs spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) maintenance and reduces fertility in male mice.<br /> • We have determined that elimination of all VEGFA isoforms in Sertoli cells affects colonization of spermatogonial stem cells in the testis and alters gene expression of genes that regulate the SSC niche.<br /> <br /> Inhibition of chemokine receptor four (CXCR4) signaling in vivo suppresses trophoblast invasion during early gestation in sheep. <br /> • Impaired CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling may lead to poor pregnancy outcomes, such as impaired trophoblast attachment and compromised embryonic growth. A better understanding of CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling during early gestation, may lead to novel applied techniques to improve embryo survival during early gestation in livestock.<br /> <br /> Chemokine ligand twelve and T-helper 1 cytokines increase in corpus luteum during implantation in sheep. <br /> • Corpora lutea function is dependent on the luteal microenvironment and immune cells affect this environment by secreting cytokines. CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling may play a role in regulating the cytokine milieu in the CL thereby influencing CL integrity and function.<br /> <br /> Human chorionic gonadotropin increases serum progesterone, number of corpora lutea, and angiogenic factors in pregnant sheep. <br /> • Administration of hCG increases serum P4 in pregnant ewes due to increased number of CL per ewe. Additionally, hCG stimulates production of PAQR7 and CXCR4 in the maternal endometrium and promotes expression of proangiogenic factors in fetal extraembryonic membranes. Supplementing livestock with hCG may boost P4 levels and improve reproductive efficiency.<br /> <br /> Bovine and ovine Y chromosome sequence, organization, and gene content. <br /> • Characterization of the bovine and ovine Y chromosome sequence, organization, gene content, and gene copy number variations provides important comparative mapping information for studying Y chromosome biology and evolution, and resources for developing male-specific genetic markers that will allow us to identify high and low fertility bulls in a sire selection program. Our results further confirmed that the PRAME/PRAMEY gene family is essential for acrosome formation and male fertility, which provide insights into the molecular mechanism of acrosome biogenesis and spermiogenesis.<br /> <br /> Endogenous cortisol, luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone secretion and GnRH-induced LH and testosterone secretion in prenatally stressed sexually mature Brahman bulls. <br /> • Prenatal stress may program bull calves to function more normally when presented with a stressor later in life. When stressed the prenatally stressed bulls had more LH pulses compared with control bulls.<br /> <br /> Evaluation of hair cortisol in beef cattle of divergent temperaments. <br /> • Hair cortisol fails to be as correlated with beef cattle temperament as serum cortisol concentrations. Hair cortisol is not a predictor of animal temperament where serum cortisol is a predictor of temperament.<br /> <br /> Relationship between body condition score, follicular activity and postpartum interval in Brahman females. <br /> • Postpartum interval is negatively correlated with body condition score and follicular diameter and number. Cows with greater body condition scores had larger follicular diameters during the early postpartum period and shorter postpartum intervals. <br /> <br /> The Effects of Maternal Under- and Over-feeding on Muscle Development of Lambs as Determined by RNA-Seq Analysis.<br /> • Over- and under-feeding during gestation both negatively impact offspring muscle development, but may work through different mechanisms by altering the expression of genes involved in metabolism, hypertrophy, nutrient uptake and protein turnover.<br /> <br /> Effects of Poor Maternal Nutrition During Gestation on Protein Expression in the Liver of Lambs.<br /> • Over-feeding during gestation may affect offspring growth through changes in liver production of IGFBP-3.<br /> <br /> Identification of Early Pregnancy and Fetal Landmarks via Transabdominal Ultrasound in Sheep.<br /> • Pregnancy in sheep can be detected as early as d 20 of gestation with accurate detection by d 28 using trans-abdominal ultrasound.<br /> • Placental and fetal landmarks are distinguishable via transabdominal ultrasound, which aid in pregnancy detection and estimating fetal/gestational age.<br /> <br /> Effects of Under- and Over-Feeding During Gestation on Organ Development of Offspring During Gestation.<br /> • Over- and under-feeding during gestation alters offspring liver, kidney and renal fat development during both early and late gestation.<br /> <br /> Statistical approaches of biological processes. <br /> • Published an R package (mvGST), which takes p-values from multiple tests of differential expression on each gene, and identifies biological processes (or molecular functions or cellular components) with specific activity differences (up or down) in multiple comparisons. This package allows statistically valid claims of differential expression (or activity) of biological processes in multiple comparisons, such as at different stages of embryonic development. Since its release, this package has been downloaded by over 800 unique users.<br /> • Published an approach (SFL for Short Focus Level) to limit the probability of any Type I errors in GO graph testing, in such a way as to be more powerful than competing approaches while also being computationally roughly 15,000 times faster (Saunders et al., 2014). This approach allows greater statistical power in confirmatory identification of biological processes that are differentially active (such as between embryos from different assisted reproductive technologies at specific stages of development), while making fewer Type I errors.<br /> <br /> Epidermal Growth Factor Promotes Interferon-tau Expression in Bovine Trophectoderm.<br /> • Epidermal growth factor is implicated as a mediator of interferon tau expression. This finding provides evidence for the vital role of this uterine factor during pre- and peri-implantation development in cattle. <br /> <br /> Production of Bovine Primitive Endoderm Outgrowths and Cell Lines for the Study of Early Embryogenesis. <br /> • Culture schemes have been developed to optimize primitive endoderm cell line development. This culture protocol will have applications for understanding endoderm specification, differentiation, and function during embryonic and extraembryonic development in cattle.<br /> <br /> The Role of Early Postnatal Nutrition and Estrogen Administration in Uterine Gland Development in Holstein Dairy Calves. <br /> • Early life plane of nutrition impacts uterine gland development rates in cattle. The consequences of the rate of uterine gland development on subsequent fertility remain to be established. <br /> • Early life plane of nutrition does not impact estrogen receptor alpha or beta expression in endometrium at 8 or 10 weeks of life. <br /> <br /> Conditional Pgrmc1 deletion results in subfertility in the female. Development of an orthotopic transplantation model for assessing endometrial stem cell functions in vivo. <br /> <br /> • Pgrmc1 plays an important role in female reproduction. Conditional deletion of this gene in the uterus results in a subfertility phenotype stemming from faulty endometrial function shortly after embryo implantation. It was established that PGRMC1 is necessary for estradiol-induced uterine epithelial cell proliferation. These findings have relevance to basic steroid hormone signaling mechanisms that are essential for normal fertility in all female mammals. <br /> • Regeneration of the endometrium likely involves distinct mechanisms that include: 1) activation of a unique population of stem cells; and 2) mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition. An orthotopic transplantation model was developed to evaluate the functional characteristics of putative endometrial stem/progenitor cells. <br /> • The helix-loop-helix transcription factors encoded by the E2a and Heb genes are functionally required for female fertility. Conditional deletion of E2a and Heb results in disruption of LH production by the pituitary. Here, both the alpha and beta subunits of LH are transcriptionally blunted in E2a/Heb knockout mice. Through ChIP-PCR it was determined that the E2a protein product (i.e., E47) bound to E-box elements in critical genes that have been shown to be functionally necessary for uterine decidualization through mouse mutagenesis studies. Some of these genes include Wnt4, Hand2, Pgr, Foxo1A and Hoxa10.<br /> • AMPK plays an essential role in ensuring proper regeneration of the endometrium following parturition. Deficiency in the genes the encode the alpha 1 and alpha 2 subunits of AMPK causes development of endometrial fibrosis in all mutant female mice following parturition, as well as development of stromal cell tumors in ~20 of the female mice. These studies likely have relevance to the horse and dairy industries where delayed/faulty uterine involution is known to compromise fertility and fecundity. <br /> <br /> Maternal overnutrition/obesity (MO) in the ewe has multigenerational metabolic programming effects on adult granddaughters (F2). <br /> • These data demonstrate that as previously reported for male F2 offspring from obese grandmothers, an ad libitum feeding challenge during adulthood induced marked insulin resistance in female offspring from obese grandmothers. In contrast to the male F2 offspring, however, this elevated insulin resistance developed in the total absence of any increase in weight gain over that of female F2 offspring from Control-fed mothers in response to ad libitum feeding.<br /> <br /> Differential Expression Analysis of Placentae from Overfed/Obese ewes and Lean Ewes Fed Only to Requirements.<br /> • This study investigated how maternal obesity alters gene expression in the placenta, the organ responsible for providing maternal nutrients to the developing fetus. We performed pathway and enrichment analysis on the differentially expressed genes and identified individual genes and broader pathways that are candidates for further investigation.<br /> <br /> Maternal Obesity (MO) During Ovine Pregnancy Leads to Increased Collagen Content and Cross-Linking in the Myocardium of Adult F1 but not F2 Offspring. <br /> • These data provide evidence for programming of increased myocardial fibrosis in adult F1 offspring of obese mothers which potentially results from obesity-induced changes in fetal life and might impair cardiac muscle function in postnatal life.<br /> <br /> Elevating Blood Cortisol (CORT) Concentrations at Birth in Lambs Eliminates the Early Postnatal Leptin Surge.<br /> • Maternal obesity (MO) in the ewe obliterates this leptin peak and also elevates lamb blood CORT. Offspring of MO ewes exhibit increased appetite, weight gain and adiposity to ad lib feeding. Since CORT alters perinatal adipose tissue development we hypothesized that exogenous CORT administration to normal newborn lambs would raise their plasma CORT to values seen in lambs born to MO ewes, eliminating their leptin peak. These data are consistent with the concept that the markedly elevated blood CORT seen at birth in MO lambs is responsible for the elimination of the early postnatal leptin spike in this species<br /> <br /> Metabolomics reveals specific metabolic adaptations in mid and late gestation sheep fetuses in response to maternal overnutrition/obesity during pregnancy. <br /> • Here, we utilized targeted electrospray ionization liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based metabolomics (West Coast Metabolomics Center, Davis, CA) to compare the effects of excess maternal nutrition during gestation on fetal plasma metabolite (carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and nucleic acids) profile at mid (n=6) and late gestation (n=5) in our well characterized MO sheep model. These data are consistent with the concept that maternal obesity/overnutrition during pregnancy results in in utero metabolic and growth adaptations that might have long-term effects on the risk of adult-onset diseases such as obesity and metabolic syndrome.<br /> <br /> Effects of maternal obesity on plasma concentration of adiponectin and expression ofits receptors in cotyledonary tissue at mid- and late gestation in sheep. <br /> • Maternal obesity did not result in an expected decrease in serum concentration of adiponectin in the maternal or fetal circulation. Differences in the large molecular weight hormone were not determined. Placental expression of adiponectin and its receptors (AdipoR1, AdipoR2) were uninfluenced by maternal obesity, but increased from mid to late gestation. The role of adiponectin with maternal obesity is not resolved, but increases with gestation suggest a role for adiponectin in fetal growth and development. <br /> <br /> Ram reproductive behavior and serum testosterone of white faced rams during the early and mid-breeding season and out of season. <br /> • What controls expression of sexual interest is not completely known, and furthering our understanding is important since an understanding of basic mechanisms is a prerequisite to the development of methods to manipulate behavior. Rams express the most robust sexual behavior during the fall breeding season and this behavior is supported by increased synthesis of testosterone. Synthesis of testosterone decreases outside of the breeding season as does the expression of sexual investigation. Copulatory behavior, however, is largely unaffected by season. The expression of sexual interest may only be supported in a rich testosterone environment, or alternatively increased sexual interest and consequent exposure to sexual stimuli may increase synthesis of testosterone. <br /> <br /> Dopamine Synthesis in the Ventral Tegmental Area in Rams with High or Low Libido. <br /> • Recognition of sexual stimuli by the ram is required for the identification of sexually receptive ewes. Rams expressing low levels of sexual interest appear to similarly identify and process sexually evocative olfactory stimuli, but reduced vigilance and engagement of hypothalamic regions may diminish mounting activity. Sexual activity activates dopamine reward mechanisms within the brainstem of the animal, insuring reproductive success across time. Decreased activity in that system may be the cause of tempered sexual interest in low sexually performing rams. <br /> <br /> <br /> Objective 2: Development and application of methodologies to improve animal health, well-being, and reproductive efficiency of domestic ruminants in order to allow sustainable operation of production systems in the western United States. <br /> <br /> Efficacy of commercially available sheep/goat CIDR-s for estrous synchronization in farmed reindeer. <br /> 1. The use of commercial CIDR-s in reindeer reduces labor requirements associated with CIDR-b modification and simplifies estrous synchronization in the reindeer herd, making the technique practical for reindeer producers to improve reproductive efficiency, including timing of calf birth, in herds kept behind fence.<br /> <br /> Animal Reproduction & Biotechnology Laboratory.<br /> • The ARBL continues work with regional veterinarians and cattle producers in addition to biotechnology and biopharma companies to develop biotechnologies and diagnostics that may be used to benefit reproduction and health in ruminants.<br /> <br /> The use of estrus detection patches to determine time of insemination.<br /> • Using estrus detection patches eliminates time needed for estrus observation and can be used to indicate which females have the highest chance of conceiving at timed insemination.<br /> <br /> Long vs short-term CIDR treatment for estrous synchronization of ewes.<br /> • Greater estrous response in ewes from a 14-day CIDR treatment indicates this is a preferred synchronization protocol compared to 7-day CIDR protocols.<br /> <br /> Effect of injectable mirco-minerals on pregnancy rates in crossbred beef cows.<br /> • Micro-mineral administration at initiation of an estrous synchronization protocol may not be associated with improved TAI or breeding season pregnancy rates in crossbred beef cows.<br /> <br /> Effect of estrous response on pregnancy rates of crossbred beef cows inseminated with sexed semen.<br /> • Increased pregnancy rates may be associated with cows that have exhibited estrus at TAI and inseminated with sexed semen.<br /> <br /> Evaluation of uterine capacity for pregnancy in beef heifers.<br /> • The genetic markers identified in this study may be useful to select animals for fertility and enhance our understanding of the physiological pathways governing pregnancy success and loss in mammals.<br /> <br /> Evaluation of new biomarkers as additional tools for fertility assessment in beef bulls.<br /> • Data generated from these studies of biomarkers associated with fertility may allow for improvements in customary breeding soundness evaluations that lead to improved pregnancy rates obtained with both AI and natural service.<br /> <br /> Metabolites, metabolic hormones, and hematological variables in mountain goats (oreamnos americanus) and Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis). <br /> • Management of high mountain ungulates is imperative in the Greater Yellowstone area to preserve the quality of the environment and habitat of these wild species. The results reported here are one component of a multidisciplinary approach that aims at understanding the ecological and physiological factors that contribute to reproductive success of big horn sheep and mountain goats in the GYA. This information will be used by many conservation groups as well as state and federal mangers for developing strategies to insure that propagation and habitat of these species.<br /> <br /> Reproductive responses and pre-weaning offspring growth performance of Rambouillet ewes synchronized with previously used or new progesterone-containing intravaginal inserts.<br /> • Intravaginal progesterone containing inserts can be reused at least once (12-day period) after the initial use for 12 days.<br /> <br /> Growth and pubertal responses of Rambouillet ewe lambs produced by ewes treated with dexamethasone during early pregnancy. <br /> • Administering 1 mg of dexamethasone daily for 5 d to ewes beginning 10 d after breeding did not affect age at puberty of female offspring.<br /> <br /> Effect of prostaglandin administration after ram turn out on ewe reproductive efficiency and pre-weaning lamb performance. <br /> • Administering 10 mg Lutalyse 2.5 d after ram turn out resulted in a similar proportion of ewes being marked after 5 d of the breeding season when compared to a 12-d CIDR protocol. <br /> <br /> Uterine and corpus luteal vascular dynamics on day 34 of pregnancy do not differ between dairy cattle which abort or carry pregnancy to term.<br /> • Monitoring uterine and ovarian vascular dynamics early in gestation does not offer a method to identify cows at risk for pregnancy loss.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Milestones: Regional, national and international interactions with producer groups<br /> <br /> 1. Geary, T. W. Advances in herd fertility. Montana Hereford Tour. Miles City, MT. September, 2014.<br /> 2. Geary, T. W. Flow cytometry to evaluate bull fertility. USDA-ARS Customer Focus Group Meeting. Miles City, MT. September, 2014.<br /> 3. Geary, T. W. Pregnancy failure in beef cattle: Who/What is to blame? Montana State University Scientist Seminar. Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. September, 2014. <br /> 4. Geary, T. W. Reproduction and pregnancy establishment in beef cattle. Seeley Lake High School Invited Seminar. Seeley Lake, MT. November, 2014.<br /> 5. Geary, T. W. Limitations to pregnancy success in beef cattle. Warnick Lecture, University of Florida, Gainsville, December, 2014.<br /> 6. Geary, T. W. Limitations to pregnancy success in beef cattle. North Dakota / South Dakota Joint Veterinary Association Meeting. Deadwood, SD. February, 2015. <br /> 7. Geary, T. W. Limitations to pregnancy success in beef cattle. Montana Producer Seminar Series. Miles City, MT. February, 2015.<br /> 8. Geary, T. W. and F. M. Abreu. Reproductive management for optimal uterine preparedness for pregnancy. 19th Annual Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. Pp. 1-13. Uberlandia, Brazil, March 2015.<br /> 9. Geary, T. W. and F. M. Abreu. Reproductive management for optimal oocyte development to enhance fertility. 19th Annual Course on New Approaches to Production and Reproduction in Cattle. Pp. 14-29. Uberlandia, Brazil, March 2015. <br /> 10. Geary, T. W., P. Sutovosky, A. Zezeski, and K. Kerns. Practical applications and scientific progress in bull fertility for the beef producer. Western Section American Society of Animal Science Beef Symposium, Ruidoso, NM, June 2015.<br /> 11. F.C. Cardoso. 2015. Transitioning with Ease. PDPW Transition Cow Conference. April 7-9, Appleton, Fennimore, and Eau Claire, WI. Role: speaker. Audience: dairy producers, dairy industry representatives, and consultants. 400 attendees.<br /> 12. Lemley, C. O. Fetal programming: influences on lifetime productivity. Invited speaker for the Mississippi Beef Cattle Improvement Association Annual Meeting (Raymond, MS) March 5, 2014.<br />

Publications

1. Akbar, H., F. C. Cardoso, S. Meier, C. Burke, S. Mcdougall, M. Mitchell, C. Walker, S. L. Rodriguez-Zas, R. E. Everts, H. A. Lewin, J. R. Roche, J. J. Loor. (2014). Postpartal Subclinical Endometritis Alters Transcriptome Profiles in Liver and Adipose Tissue of Dairy Cows. Bioinformatics and Biology Insights, 8:45-63.<br /> 2. Andrews, S.E., L.D. Brown, S.E. Thorn, M.A. Davis, S.W. Limesand, W.W. Hay, Jr., P.J. Rozance (2015). Increased Adrenergic Signaling Is Responsible for Decreased Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in the Chronically Hyperinsulinemic Ovine Fetus. Endocrinology 1(1):367-76. <br /> 3. Ashry M, Lee KB, Mondal M, Datta TK, Folger JK, Hemeida NA and Smith GW. 2015. Expression of TGF? superfamily components and other markers of oocyte quality in oocytes selected by brilliant cresyl blue staining: Relevance to early embryonic development. Molecular Reproduction and Development 82:251-264. <br /> 4. Blanchard, M., Anderson, M., Hoar, B., Blanchard, P., Yeargan, B., Teglas, M. B., Belshaw, M., Stott, J. (2014). Assessment of a fluorescent antibody test for the detection of antibodies against epizootic bovine abortion. Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, 26(5), 622-­?630.<br /> 5. Burton, D. J., P. A. Ludden, R. H. Stobart, B.M. Alexander. 2015. Fifty years of the Wyoming Ram Test: How sheep have changed. Journal of Animal Science. J Anim Sci. Mar;93(3):1327-31. <br /> 6. Camacho, L. E., C.O. Lemley, L. D. Prezotto, M. L. Bauer, H. C. Freetly, K. C. Swanson, K. A. Vonnahme. 2014. Effects of maternal nutrient restriction followed by re-alimentation during mid-gestation on uterine blood flow in beef cows. Theriogenology. 81:1248-1256.<br /> 7. Camacho, L. E., C. O. Lemley, M. L. Van Emon, J. S. Caton, K. C. Swanson, and K. A. Vonnahme. 2014. Effects of maternal nutrient restriction followed by realimentation during early and mid-gestation on beef cows. I. Maternal performance and organ weights at different stages of gestation. Journal of Animal Science. 92:520-529.<br /> 8. Canovas, A. Reverter, A., DeAtley, K.L., Ashley, R.L., Colgrave, M.L., Fortes, M. R., Islas-Trejo, A., Lehnert, S., Porto-Neto, L., Rincon, G., Silver, G.A., Snelling, W.M., Medrano, J.F., Thomas, M.G. 2014. Multi-Tissue Omics Analyses Reveal Molecular Regulatory Networks for Puberty in Composite Beef Cattle. PLoS One. Jul 21;9(7):e102551. PMID: 25048735.<br /> 9. Chaoqun Zhu, Y. Z Yin, J. Ren, R.J. McCormick, S.P. Ford, W. Guo. 2015. RBM20 is an essential factor for thyroid hormone-regulated titin isoform transition. J. Molec. Cell Biol. 7 (1):88-90. <br /> 10. Cleys, E.R., J.L. Halleran, V.A. Enriquez, J.C. da Silveira, R.C. West, Q.A. Winger, R.V. Anthony, J.E. Bruemmer, C.M. Clay and G.J. Bouma. 2015. Androgen receptor and histone lysine demethylases in ovine placenta. PLoS One 10(2):e0117472.<br /> 11. Coleson, M.P.T., N.S. Sanchez, A.K. Ashley, T.T. Ross, and R.L. Ashley. 2015. Human chorionic gonadotropin increases serum progesterone, number of corpora lutea, and angiogenic factors in pregnant sheep. Reproduction. Jul;150(1):43-52. PMID: 25861798.<br /> 12. Cupp AS. Sertoli Cell Based Gene Therapy? Biol Reprod. 2014 Aug;91(2):40. doi: 10.1095/biolreprod.114.121996. Epub 2014 Jun 18. No abstract available. PMID:24943042. Free article (Invited Commentary).<br /> 13. Cushman, R.A., R.G. Tait Jr., A.K. McNeel, E.D. Forbes, O.L. Amundson, C.A. Lents, A.K. Lindholm-Perry, G.A. Perry, J.R. Wood, A.S. Cupp, T.P.L. Smith, H.C. Freetly, and G.L. Bennett. A polymorphism in myostatin influences puberty but not fertility in beef heifers, whereas µ-calpain affects first calf birth weight J Anim Sci. 2015 Jan;93(1):117-26. doi: 10.2527/jas.2014-8505.<br /> 14. Datta TK*, Rajput SK, Wee G, Lee KB, Folger JK, Smith GW. 2015. Requirement of the transcription factor USF1 in bovine oocyte and early embryonic development. 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Impact Statements

1. 1. Promoting professional development through invited talks, acting as reviewers for promotion and tenure packets, and sharing resources for courses.
2. 2. W2112 members worked collaboratively to develop presentations on beef cattle research results at the 2015 WASAS meeting Beef Symposium and provided all presentations for the symposium day.
3. 3. Development of early pregnancy detection methods in ruminants, which correspond to maternal recognition of pregnancy factors.
4. 4. Developing a wealth of information on gene expression and how it differs to better develop methods to identify more fertile females to remain in the herd.
5. 5. Understanding how male fertility may be influenced by VEGF in relation to sperm stem cells in males.
6. 6. The expertise of the groups generates invitations to write chapters in text books related to reproduction.

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Report Information

Participants

1. Kristen Govoni University of Connecticut
2. Milan Shipka University of Alaska
3. Andrea Cupp University of Nebraska
4. Tom Geary USDA-ARS Fort Keogh, Montana
5. Caleb Lemley Mississippi State University
6. Randy L. Bogan University of Arizona
7. Brenda Alexander University of Wyoming
8. Phil Cardoso University of Illinois
9. Kim Vonnahme North Dakota State University
10. James Berardinelli Montana State University
11. Ky G. Pohler University of Tennessee
12. John Stevens Utah State University
13. Ron Randel Texas A&M
14. Thomas Hansen Colorado State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Caleb (chair) called to order at 8AM.

State updates and introductions:

Assistant professor position opening at Wyoming. More information contact Brenda.  Ky - Tennessee. Statistics genomics position open.  Targeting a reproduction based person. Will be hiring extension people in the near future.  Utah – not hiring. Connecticut – hiring a geneticist; looking at the next year or so depending on retirements. Kim – North Dakota. Going through an exercise about budget cuts. Not hiring. Tom – Miles City. They recently hired a new geneticist. Milan is now director of the experiment station in Fairbanks – AK.  Has a position for a MS working on reindeer.  Caleb – Mississippi.  Budget reduction around 3%.  Looking for an assistant dairy herd management.  Probably will be hiring a Dairy nutritionist in the next couple of years due to a faculty leaving. Got approval for 2 new buildings for ANSC and Poultry science. Phil – IL.  Budget cuts 7% yearly for the next 7 years. 35 faculty members.  In 2015 the department had 189 publications. Colorado has 3 fellowship for grad students.  Looking at MS students. Andrea – Nebraska.  Looking for a new department head. Has 5 candidates already scheduled to be interviewed in June.  New reproduction physiologist for the Zoo and trying to get a spousal hire.  Has the push to increase the grad student population in the departments in the College of Ag.  Jim – Montana State. This is his 34^th meeting.  The State is in a very good shape.  Will be announcing a position for Equine science and wildlife extension.  Equine major enrollment increased 100% in the last 2 years.  Ron – Texas A&M.  Looking for a department head.  May have hired an equine reproductive physiologist.  Challenges with having to have grad students teaching instead of just doing research.  Randy – Arizona.  New department head is Andres Dennis-Wright for the last 1.5 years.  Looking for a virologist.  Starting the process of a VET School. 

Andrea nominated Ky G. Pohler and Kim seconded the nomination. No other nominations were brought forward and Ky G. Pohler will be the secretary for 2017 meeting and chair the 2018 meeting.

Our project was reviewed.  Reviewers mentioned that the objective is too big and hard to justify if objective is being met.  The handbook (2^nd edition) will be published this year. Milan has a few questions on it before moving forward.  The book will be hosted by the University of Nebraska (Andrea) beef website.  Members are encouraged to link the book to their own websites. 

Tom read acknowledgments from the founders of the group.

Discussion of the re-write was included in the agenda.  Brenda led the discussion.  Participants need to refile Appendix E for 3112. 

1. Participants need to send the amount of $$$ funded in the last 5 years (2011 to now)


2. Participants need to review the new objectives (blue) and make suggestions and if it included/represents your research.


3. Indicate the number of grads and undergraduate research participants that were involved in the projects related to this research.

Brenda will send an e-mail to all participants requesting the aforementioned information.

May 24, 2016 (Tuesday)

10:49AM – COLLABORATIONS – Phil will send a list of past and present collaborations and will be sent out to all participants next week. Caleb and Phil will elaborate a list. 

11:20AM – Phil will send impact statements from previous year and also look at all the state reports to check with nee ones need to be added.

The group agreed that the 2017 meeting would be in Fargo, ND immediately following the WSASAS meeting - June 23 in the afternoon and all day on June 24

Meeting was adjourned at 11:30AM. 

Accomplishments

<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">State reports:</span></p><br /> <p>At 10:09AM Andrea started with the Nebraska State report.&nbsp; Lineage of cows with anovulation that may be related to PCOS in women. &nbsp;Dividing animals in groups by puberty to better understand effects.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>10:32AM Kim started with ND report.&nbsp; Differences in heifers frame, feed efficiency, feed behavior, the cross breeding is accomplished on campus.&nbsp; The off-spring will be followed next year.&nbsp; Measured blood flow to the mammary gland as well.&nbsp; Mononuclear to bi-nuclear cells in the sheep placental vases impacting the fetuses.&nbsp; Nutrient restriction and placental blood flow was discussed.</p><br /> <p>10:49AM Break.</p><br /> <p>11:05AM - Locations for next meeting.&nbsp; Milan suggested Fargo -ND.&nbsp; Put it together with the Western section June 20 &ndash; 23, 2017. W2112 will have a symposium in the meeting entitled &ldquo;Reproduction in Domestic Ruminants&rdquo;. &nbsp;Suggestion is to have it in the last day from 9 &ndash; noon.&nbsp; Our meeting follows in the afternoon and Saturday.&nbsp; James Berardinelli moved to accept Fargo as the next meeting site and Milan seconded.&nbsp; All participants were in favor.</p><br /> <p>11:25AM - Milan started the Alaska&rsquo;s report.&nbsp; The use of synthetic progestin (Depo-Provera; depot medroxyprogesterone acetate; DMPA; Pfizer Pharmaceutical) to reduce aggression in rutting males.&nbsp; Controlled bulls lost 50kg (high percentage of body mass) when compared to 10% with treated bulls.&nbsp; Treated bulls would behave different by staying closer to each other what is not a common procedure in bulls. &nbsp;Next year the bulls will be switched.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>11:45AM - Webinar USDA Stakeholder Listening Session - Discussion Topics and Leaders.&nbsp; Asked stakeholders what are the main reproductive issues in their species of interest.&nbsp; Tom (Miles City) suggested to include pregnancy loss as an important topic to be included in the research topics.&nbsp; Brenda suggested that male behavior and fertility should have some emphasis especially in small ruminants.</p><br /> <p>2: 23PM &ndash; Arizona report. Randy mentioned the study in monkeys looking at gene targeted towards new markers for luteolysis. Liver X receptors is the targeted gene that may be important in whole body lipid metabolism.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>2:43PM Ron &ndash; Texas report.&nbsp; Transportation stress on gestation of cattle seems to impact insulin sensitivity. Pre-natal stress is changing the first generation.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>3:28PM &ndash; Jim, Montana report.&nbsp; Long term P4 results in higher feed efficiency in sheep.&nbsp; It took 25% less TDN in the high progesterone line to produce a lamb when compared with low line.</p><br /> <p>4:02PM &ndash; Todd, Colorado report. Placental specific lentivirus model.&nbsp; Knock out gene in sheep for placental cells. Funded by Zoetis to explore fertility in dairy cows by exploring by Zoetis daughter pregnancy rate.&nbsp; Looked at embryos and endometrium.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>4:18PM &ndash; Phil, Illinois report.&nbsp; Methionine impacts the amount of lipid droplets in the blastocyst of dairy cows what may be linked with reduced early embryonic death.</p><br /> <p>4:38PM &ndash; Caleb, Mississippi report.&nbsp; CIP1A or UGT (phase 2) enzymes in uterine samples from day 2 to 16.&nbsp; Found it in the endometrium and CL from beef cows.&nbsp; Looking at Eicosanoids panel for uterine tissue of open cows.</p><br /> <p>4:53PM &ndash; payment of registration fees ($92.00 per person) to Milan.</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>&nbsp;</p><br /> <p><strong>May 24, 2016 (Tuesday)</strong></p><br /> <p>Caleb (chair) called to order at 8:07AM.</p><br /> <p>8:08AM &ndash; Tom, Miles City (MT) report.&nbsp; Small, large, and spontaneous follicles cells transcriptome.&nbsp; Looking at markers for oocyte competence.&nbsp; With Bill, hunted 6 antelopes to classify them according to reproductive tract (ruminants or not).&nbsp; Interested in sorting white blood cells from the ejaculate.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>8:42AM &ndash; Kristin, Connecticut report.&nbsp; Using sheep as a model for feeding manipulation (over vs. restricted feeding) and impact on offspring.&nbsp; Stem cells from overfed or restricted 50% reduction in proliferation rate.&nbsp; When looking at mitochondrial stress from the overfed or restrict ewes it was reduced reducing the ability to produce ATP.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>9:13AM &ndash; Conference call NIFA updates Adele Turzillo.&nbsp; New NIFA website.&nbsp; Dual purpose with dual benefits were renewed for 3 more years.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>10:05AM &ndash; Brenda, Wyoming report.&nbsp; Studying tryptophan metabolism as it is serotonin precursor.&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>10:25AM &ndash; Ky, Tennessee report.&nbsp; Working on PEG genes present in the <em>Bos taurus</em> genome.&nbsp; How sires are impacting PEGs.&nbsp; Can PEG be used to increase fertility in bulls?&nbsp;</p><br /> <p>10:36AM &ndash; John, Utah report.&nbsp; Developed a software package to understand variability from embryos coming from different environments.&nbsp;</p>

Publications

Impact Statements

1. • Interferon-tau decreased activity of CYP1A and CYP2C in a bovine endometrial cell line. These enzymes are involved in estradiol, progesterone and/or arachidonic acid metabolism, which could alter early signals for maintenance of pregnancy.

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