Abstract
Experiments were designed to examine: 1) age at puberty in Chinese Meishan (Ms) and Yorkshire (Y) gilts, 2) litter size in Ms and Y gilts and 3) ejaculate characteristics in Ms and Y boars. Ms gilts reached sexual maturity 105 da earlier than Y gilts and Ms gilts were in estrus almost 1 da longer than Y gilts for their first, second and third estrus. No differences were detected between breeds for cycle length on the first or second estrous cycle. Validation of the Coat A Count Progesterone RIA procedure resulted in an accurate, rapid and efficient method for quantification of porcine serum progesterone and has extended to swine a reliable, repeatable methodology to confirm visual estrous detection which allows for accurate prediction of first ovulation at puberty. Luteal phase concentrations of progesterone are greater in Meishan gilts than Y control gilts during the first 2 estrous cycles. Reciprocal cross females (Ms × Y and Y × Ms) had higher ovulation rates and numbers of fetuses than Ms and Y females, possibly due to hybrid vigor. However, length of the uterus was not influenced by their larger litter sizes suggesting that uterine capacity was not challenged at this reproductive age. It appears there is a key point for Ms females where physiological and reproductive age must coincide to maintain improved prolificacy over domestic breeds of females. Further, the mechanism of fetal survival may be different in crossbred Ms females than in purebred Ms females. Therefore, of ovulation rate, uterine and embryonic interactions, including uterine capacity, and reproductive age are all important in the greater prolificacy of Ms females over occidental breeds of females. There were higher concentrations of estradiol-17β (E2) and testosterone in the seminal plasma from Ms boars compared to seminal plasma from Y boars.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Rothschild, M.F., McLaren, D.G., Young, L.D., Christian, L.L., Hsieh, C.-Y., and White, B.R., 1990, Preliminary reproductive results from Meishan gilts imported from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to the United States, J. Anim. Sci. 68 (Suppl. 1): 228 abstr.
Phillips, R.W., and Tumbleson, M.E., 1986, Models, Swine in Biomedical Research 1: 437–440.
White, B.R., McLaren, D.G., Dziuk, P.J., and Wheeler, M.B., 1993, Age at puberty, ovulation rate, uterine length, prenatal survival and litter size in Chinese Meishan and Yorkshire females, Theriogenology 40: 85–97.
Gerfen, R.W., White, B.R., Cotta, M.A., and Wheeler, M.B., 1994, Comparison of the semen characteristics of Fengjing, Meishan and Yorkshire boars, Theriogenology 41: 461–469.
Zimmerman, D.R., Carlson, R., and Nippert, L., 1969, Age at puberty in gilts as affected by daily heat checks with a boar, J. Anim. Sci. 29 (Suppl. 1): 203 abstr.
Brooks, P.H., and Cole, D.J.A., 1976, Effect of boar presence on the age at puberty of gilts, Report from the School of Agriculture, University of Nottingham. 74 abstr.
Doroshkov, V.B., 1974, Stimulatory effect of males on reproductive performance of female pigs, Anim. Breed. Abstr. 42: 3830 abstr.
Hughes, P.E., and Cole, D.J.A., 1976, Reproduction in the gilt. 1. Influence of age and weight at puberty on ovulation rate and embryo survival in the gilt, Anim. Prod. 21: 183–189.
Hughes, P.E., 1982, Factors affecting the natural attainment of puberty in the gilt, in: Control of Pig Reproduction, (D.J.A. Cole, and G.R. Foxcroft, eds.), Butterworth Scientific, London, pp. 117–138.
Wheeler, M.B., Anderson, G.B., BonDurant, R.H., and Stabenfeldt, G.H., 1982, Postpartum ovarian function and fertility in beef cattle that produce twins, J. Anim. Sci. 54: 589–593.
Hansel, W., Concannon, P.W., and Lukaszewska, J.H., 1973, Corpora lutea of the large domestic animals, Biol. Reprod. 8: 222–245.
SAS, 1985, SAS Users Guide: Statistics, 5th ed., SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, NC.
Veldhuis, J.D., and Johnson, M.L., 1986, Cluster analysis: A simple, versatile, and robust algorithm for endocrine pulse detection, Am. J. Physiol. 250: E486–E493.
Martinat-Botte, F., Bazer, F.W., and Terqui, M., 1989, Embryonic survival mechanisms in Chinese Meishan (MS) and hyperprolific Large White (LWh) gilts, Proc. 3rd Int. Conf Pig Reprod. 45 abstr.
Haley, C.S., Ashworth, C.J., Lee, G.J., Wilmut, I., Aitken, R.P., and Ritchie, W., 1990, British studies of the genetics of prolificacy in the Meishan pig, in: Symp. Sur Le Porc Chinois (M. Molenat, and C. Legault, eds.), Tolouse, France, pp. 86–97.
Wu, M.C., and Dziuk, P.J., 1988, Procedures for measuring length of the pig uterus, J. Anim. Sci. 66: 1712–1720.
Scheffe, H., 1959, The Analysis of Variance, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, pp. 365–367.
Almond, G.W., Esbenshade, K.L., and Smith, C.A., 1992, Effects of chronic gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment on serum luteinizing hormone and testosterone concentrations in boars, Am. J. Vet. Res. 53: 22–25.
Wilmut, I., Ritchie, W.A., Haley, C.S., Ashworth, C.J., and Aitken, R.P., 1992, A comparison of rate and uniformity of embryo development in Meishan and European white pigs, J. Reprod. Fertil. 95: 45–56.
Christenson, R.K., 1993, Ovulation rate and embryonic survival in Chinese Meishan and white crossbred pigs, J. Anim. Sci. 71: 3060–3066.
Haley, C.S., and Lee, G.J., 1993, Genetic basis of prolificacy in the Meishan pig, J. Reprod. Fertil. Suppl. 48: 247–259.
Legault, C., Caritez, J.C., Gruand, J., and Bidanel, J.P., 1984, Le point de l’experimentation sur les races chinoises en France: ‘reproduction’ et ‘production’, J. Rech. Porcine Fr. 16: 481–494.
Bidanel, J.P., Caritez, J.C., and Lagant, H., 1990, Ovulation rate and embryonic survival in gilts and sows with variable proportions of Meishan (MS) and Large White (LW) genes. Mean performance and crossbreeding parameters between MS and LW breeds, in: Symp. Sur Le Porc Chinois (M. Molenat, and C. Legault, eds.), Tolouse, France, p. 110. abstr.
Bidanel, J.P., Caritez, J.C., and Legault, C., 1989, Estimation of crossbreeding parameters between Large White and Meishan porcine breeds. I. Reproductive performance, Genet. Sel. Evol. 21: 507–526.
Galvin, J.M., Wilmut, I., Day, B.N., Ritchie, M., Thomson, M., and Haley, C.S., 1993, Reproductive performance in relation to uterine and embryonic traits during early gestation in Meishan, Large White and crossbred sows, J. Reprod. Fertil. 98: 377–384.
Rivera, R.M., Christenson, L.K., Youngs, C.R., and Ford, S.P., 1994, Competitive survival, growth rate and estrogen secretory activity of Meishan and Yorkshire fetuses, J. Anim. Sci. 72(Suppl. 1): 78 abstr.
Wu, M.C., Hentzel, M.D., and Dziuk, P.J., 1987, Relationships between uterine length and number of fetuses and prenatal mortality in pigs, J. Anim. Sci. 65: 762–770.
Ford, S.P., Christenson, L.K., Rivera, R.M., and Youngs, C.R., 1994, Inhibitory effects of the Meishan uterus on growth rate and estradiol-17β (E2) secretion of day 30 conceptuses, Biol. Reprod. 50(Suppl. 1): 175 abstr.
Youngs, C.R., Christenson, L.K., and Ford, S.P., 1994, Investigations into the control of litter size in swine: III. A reciprocal embryo transfer study of early conceptus development, J. Anim. Sci. 72: 725–731.
Bazer, F.W., Thatcher, W.W., Martinat-Botte, F., and Terqui, M., 1988, Sexual maturation and morphological development of the reproductive tract in Large White and prolific Chinese Meishan pigs, J. Reprod. Fertil. 83: 723–728.
Biggs, C., Tilton, J.E., Craigon, J., Foxcroft, G.R., Ashworth, C.J., and Hunter, M.G., 1993, Comparison of follicular heterogeneity and ovarian characteristics in Meishan and Large-White hybrid pigs, J. Reprod. Fertil. 97: 263–269.
Bidanel, J.P., Caritez, J.C., and Lagant, H., 1990, Characteristics of the reproductive organs of gilts and sows with variable proportions of Meishan (MS) and Large White (LW) genes, in: Symp. Sur Le Porc Chinois (M. Molenat, and C. Legault, eds.), Tolouse, France, p. 108. abstr.
Ashworth, C.J., Haley, C.S., Aitken, R.P., and Wilmut, I., 1990, Embryo survival and conceptus growth after reciprocal embryo transfer between Chinese Meishan and Landrace × Large White gilts, J. Reprod. Fertil. 90: 595–603.
Borg, K.E., Lunstra, D.D., and Christenson, R.K., 1993, Semen characteristics, testicular size, and reproductive hormone concentrations in mature Duroc, Meishan, Fengjing, and Minzhu boars, Biol. Reprod. 49:515–521.
Claus, R., Schopper, D., and Wagner, H.G., 1983, Seasonal effect on steriods in blood plasma and seminal plasma of boars, Steriod Biochem. 19: 725–729.
Eiler, H., and Graves, C.N., 1977, Oestrogen content of semen and the effect of exogenous oestradiol-17β on the oestrogen and androgen concentration in semen and blood plasma of bulls, J. Reprod. Fertil. 50: 17–21.
Claus, R., 1990, Physiological role of seminal components in the reproductive tract of the female pig, J. Reprod. Fertil. Suppl. 40: 117–131.
Claus, R., Hoang-Vue, C., Ellendorff, F., Meyer, H.D., Schopper, D., and Weiler, U., 1987. Seminal oestrogens in the boar: Origin and functions in the sow, Steriod Biochem. 27: 331–335.
Parrott, R.F., and Booth, W.D., 1984, Behavioral and morphological effects of 5a-dihydrotestosterone and oestradiol-17β in the prepubertally castrated boar, J. Reprod. Fertil. 71: 453–461.
Willmen, T., Rabeler, J., Everwand, A., Waberski, D., and Weitze, K.F., 1991, Influence of seminal plasma and oestrogenens in the inseminate on fertilization rate, sperm transport and ovulation time, in: Boar Semen Preservation II (L.A. Johnson, and D. Rath, eds.), Paul Parey Scientific Publishers, Berlin, Germany, pp. 379–383.
Weiler, U., and Claus, R., 1991, Endocrine aspects of testicular function, especially hormones in the seminal plasma and their fate in the female reporductive tract: Testicular steriods and their relevance for male and female reproductive functions, in: Boar Semen Preservation II (L.A. Johnson, and D. Rath, eds.), Paul Parey Scientific Publishers, Berlin, Germany, pp. 41–61.
Ford, J.J., Wise, T., Lunstra, D.D., and Klindt, J., 1994, Follicle-stimulating hormone secretion in purebred Meishan (MS) and white crossbred (WC) boars, J. Anim. Sci. 11 (Suppl 1): 163 abstr.
Van De Wiel, D.F.M., Erkens, J., Koops, W., Vos, E., and Van Landeghem, A.A.J., 1981, Periestrous and midluteal time courses of circulating LH, FSH, Prolactin, Estradiol-17β and Progesterone in the domestic pig, Biol. Reprod. 24: 223–233.
Murray, F.A., and Grifo, A.P., Jr., 1986, Intrauterine infusion of killed semen to increase litter size in gilts, J. Anim. Sci. 62: 187–190.
Stratman, F.W., and Self, H.L., 1960, Effect of semen volume and number of sperm on fertility and embryo survival in artificially inseminated gilts, J. Anim. Sci. 19: 1081–1088.
White, B.R., and Wheeler, M.B., 1995, Examination of ovulation rate, uterine and fetal interactions, and reproductive age in Chinese Meishan, Yorkshire, and reciprocal cross gilts: effects of fetal and maternal genotypes, Anim. Reprod. Sci. 39: 147–158.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
White, B.R., Barnes, J., Wheeler, M.B. (1996). Reproductive Physiology in Chinese Meishan Pigs. In: Tumbleson, M.E., Schook, L.B. (eds) Advances in Swine in Biomedical Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5885-9_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5885-9_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7699-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-5885-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive