Hematological Parameters as Indicators for Litter size and Pregnancy Stage in Awassi ‎Ewes

Physiological status and litter size can indeed have a significant impact on ewes' ‎hematological parameters, which are essential indicators of their health. Therefore, this study ‎examined the hematological profiles of ewes during pregnancy with single and twins in the ‎Awassi ewes. The present study involved 232 ewes in good health and at sexual maturity. ‎Among them, 123 ewes had single pregnancies, while 109 ewes had twin pregnancies. The age ‎range of the ewes included in the study was between 3.5 and 4.5 years. Hematological tests ‎were conducted on the sheep's blood samples promptly following collection. The findings ‎demonstrated variations in hematological parameters among pregnant ewes, with differences ‎based on litter size. Ewes carrying twin pregnancies exhibited significantly higher levels of ‎red blood corpuscular, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin ‎concentration during pregnancy. In comparison to single-pregnant ewes, Awassi ewes with ‎twin pregnancies displayed elevated counts of white blood cells, lymphocytes, granulocytes, ‎and granulocyte percentage compared to ewes with single pregnancies. Awassi ewes with twin ‎pregnancies also exhibited a strong positive correlation with the leukocytes and erythrocytes ‎constituents. In conclusion, these findings indicate that litter size significantly influences ‎hematological parameters, highlighting the importance of considering the physiological status ‎and litter size as indicators of ewes' health. The findings have practical implications in sheep ‎breeding and reproduction, as they can be utilized to enhance the diagnosis, prognosis, and ‎treatment of related conditions‎

A novel deleterious oxytocin variant is associated with the lower twinning ratio in Awassi ewes

This study aimed to assess the possible association of oxytocin (OXT) gene with reproductive traits in two groups of Awassi ewes that differ in their reproductive potentials. Sheep were genotyped using PCR—single-stranded conformation polymorphism approach. Three genotypes were detected in exon 2, CC, CA, and AA, and a novel SNP was identified with a missense effect on oxytocin (c.188C > A → p.Arg55Leu). A significant (p in silico tools that were utilized to assess the effect of this variant on the structure, function, and stability of oxytocin. Molecular docking showed that p.Arg55Leu caused a dramatic alteration in the binding of oxytocin with its receptor and reduced the number of interacted amino acids between them. Our study suggests that ewes with AA and CA genotypes showed a lower reproductive performance due to the presence of p.Arg55Leu, which caused damaging impacts on oxytocin and is binding with the OXT receptor. The utilization of the p.Arg55Leu could be useful for improving Awassi reproductive potential.</p