Maternal Anemia in Rural Jordan: Room for Improvement

The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to estimate the prevalence and determine factors associated with anemia among pregnant women in rural Jordan. A cohort of 700 pregnant women from a National Health Service hospital and ten health centers completed a questionnaire. Of the total, 243 (34.7%) had anemia. The prevalence was the highest for women in their 3rd trimester (42.5%) compared to those in 2nd trimester (32.7%) and 1st trimester (18.9%). Gestational age, body mass index, history of previous surgery, and multivitamin intake during pregnancy were significantly associated with anemia. Women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters had higher odds of anemia (OR = 2.2 and 3.3, resp.). Underweight women had higher odds of anemia (OR = 2.9). History of previous surgery and multivitamin intake during pregnancy were associated with higher odds of anemia (OR = 1.6 and 1.9, resp.)

Status and origin of Egyptian local rabbits in comparison with Spanish common rabbits using mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis

[EN] Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and cytochrome b (cyt b) gene sequences were used to determine the status of genetic diversity and phylogeny for 132 individuals from local rabbit breeds in Egypt and Spain. The Egyptian local rabbit breeds were Egyptian Red Baladi (ERB), Egyptian Black Baladi (EBB) and Egyptian Gabali Sinai (EGS). However, the Spanish local rabbit breed was Spanish common rabbit (SCR). Previous breeds were compared with European Wild Rabbit taken from Albacete, Spain (EWR). A total of 353 mutations, 290 polymorphic sites, 14 haplotypes, 0.06126 haplotype diversity and –1.900 (P<0.05) for Tajima’s D were defined in this study. Haplotype A mostly occurred in 83.3% of Egyptian rabbits and 11.7 % of EWR, while haplotype B occurred in 63.8% of Spanish rabbits and 36.2% of the EGS breed. A total of 47 domestic and wild Oryctolagus cuniculus published sequences were used to investigate the origin and relation among the rabbit breeds tested in this study. The most common haplotype (A) was combined with 44.7% of published sequences. However, haplotype B was combined with 8.5%. Haplotypes of Egyptian, SCR and EWR were scattered in cluster 1, while we found only one EGS haplotype with two haplotypes of EWR in cluster 2. Our results assumed that genetic diversity for ERB, EBB and SCR was very low. Egyptian breeds and SCR were introduced from European rabbits. We found that ERB and EBB belong to one breed.Emam, AM.; Afonso, S.; González-Redondo, P.; Mehaisen, G.; Azoz, A.; Ahmed, N.; Fernand, N. (2020). Status and origin of Egyptian local rabbits in comparison with Spanish common rabbits using mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis. World Rabbit Science. 28(2):93-102. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2020.12219OJS93102282Abrantes J., Areal H., Esteves P.J. 2013. Insights into the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) innate immune system: genetic diversity of the toll-like receptor 3(TLR3) in wild populations and domestic breeds. BMC Genet., 14: 73. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2156-14-73Achilli A., Olivieri A., Pellecchia M., Uboldi C., Colli L., Al-Zahery N., Accetturo M., Pala M., Kashani B.H., Perego U.A., Battaglia V., Fornarino S., Kalamati J., Houshmand M., Negrini R., Semino O., Richards M., Macaulay V., Ferretti L., Bandelt H.J., Ajmone-Marsan P., Torroni A. 2008. Mitochondrial genomes of extinct aurochs survive in domestic cattle. Curr. Biol., 18: R157-R158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.01.019Alves J.M., Carneiro, M., Afonso S., Lopes S., Garreau H., Boucher S., Allian D., Queney G., Esteves P.J., Bolet J. and Ferrnand N. 2015. Levels and patterns of genetic diversity and population structure in domestic rabbits. PLoS One 10 (12): e0144687. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0144687Bolet G., Brun J.M., Monnerot M., Abeni F., Arnal C., Arnold J., Bell D., Bergoglio G., Besenfelder U., Bosze S., Boucher S., Chanteloup N., Ducourouble M.C., Durand-Tardif M., Esteves P.J., Ferrand N., Gautier A., Haas C., Hewitt G., Jehl N., Joly T., Koehl P.F., Laube T., Lechevestrier S., Lopez M., Masoero G., Menigoz J.J., Piccinin R., Queney G., Saleil G., Surridge A., Van Der Loo W., Vicente J.S., Viudes De Castro M.P., Virag G., Zimmermann, J.M. 2000. Evaluation and conservation of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) genetic resources. First results and inferences. In Proc.: 7th World Rabbit Congress, 4-7 July 2000, Valencia, Spain, pp. 281-315.Bollback J.P., Huelsenbeck J.P. 2007. Clonal interference is alleviated by high mutation rates in large populations. Mol. Biol. Evol., 24: 1397-1406. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msm056Bortoluzzi C., Bosse M., Derks M.F.L., Crooijmans R., Groenen M.A.M, Megens H.J. 2019. The type of bottleneck matters: Insights into the deleterious variation landscape of small managed populations. Evol Appl., 13: 330-341. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.12872.Brook B.W. 2008. Demographics versus genetics in conservation biology. In: Carrol, S.P. and Fox, C.W. (eds). Conservation Biology: Evolution in Action. Oxford University Press: USA. 35-49.Campos, R., Storz, J.F., Ferrand, N. 2012. Copy number polymorphism in the α-globin gene cluster of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Heredity, 108: 531-536. https://doi.org/10.1038/hdy.2011.118Carneiro M., Afonso S., Geraldes A., Garreau H., Bolet G., Boucher S., Tircazes A., Queney G., Nachman M.W., Ferrand N. 2011. The genetic structure of domestic rabbits. Mol. Biol. Evol., 28: 1801-1816. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msr003Carneiro M., Albert F.W., Melo-Ferreira J., Galtier N., Gayral P., Blanco-Aguiar J.A., Villafuerte R., Nachman N.M., Ferrand N. 2012. Evidence for widespread positive and purifying selection across the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) genome. Mol. Biol. Evol., 29: 1837-1849. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/mss025Christensen N.D., Peng X. 2012. Rabbit genetic and transgenic model. In: The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea pig, Hamster and other Rodents (Eds. Suckow, M.A., Stevens, K.A. and Wilson, R.P). Elsevier, USA, pp. 165-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-380920-9.00007-9Christodoulakis M., Golding G.B., Iliopoulos C.S., Pinzón Ardila Y.J., Smyth W.F. 2007. Efficient algorithms for counting and reporting segregating sites in genomic sequences. J. Comput. Biol., 14: 1001-1010. https://doi.org/10.1089/cmb.2006.0136Emam A.M., Afonso, S., Azoz, A., Mehaisen, G.M.K., Gonzalez, P.; Ahmed, N.A., Ferrnand N. 2016. Microsatellite polymorphism in some Egyptian and Spanish common rabbit breeds. In Proc.: 11th World Rabbit Congress, 15-18 June 2016, Qingdao, China. pp: 31-34.Emam A.M., Azoz A., Mehaisen G.M.K., Ferrnand N., Ahmed N.A. 2017. Diversity assessment among native middle Egypt rabbit populations in North upper- Egypt province by microsatellite polymorphism. World Rabbit Sci., 25: 9-16. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2017.5298Ennafaa H., Monnerot M., Gaaied A.E., Mounolou J.C. 1987. Rabbit mitochondrial DNA: preliminary comparison between some domestic and wild animals. Genet. Select. Evol.,19:279-288. https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9686-19-3-279FAO. 2007. Global plan of action for animal genetic resources and the Interlaken declaration. Available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1404e/a1404e00.htm. Accessed August 2019.FAO. 2011. Animal production and health guidelines (9), Molecular genetic characterization of animal genetic resources, Commission on genetic resources for food and agriculture. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome.Fu Y.X., Li W.H. 1993. Statistical tests of neutrality of mutations. Genetics,133: 693-709.Fuller S.J., Wilson, J.C., Mather P.B. 1997. Patterns of differentiation among wild rabbit populations Oryctolagus Cuniculus L. in arid and semiarid ecosystems of North-Eastern Australia. Mol. Eco., 6: 145-153. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-294X.1997.00167.xGaggiotti O.E. 2003. Genetic threats to population persistence. Ann. Zool. Fennici, 40: 155-168. Galal E.S.E., Khalil M.H. 1994. Development of rabbit industry in Egypt. Cahiers Options Méditerranéennes, 8: 43-56.Geraldes A., Ferrand N., Nachman M.W. 2006. Contrasting patterns of introgression at X-linked loci across the hybrid zone between subspecies of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Genetics, 173, 919-933. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.105.054106Ghalayini M, Launay A, BridierNahmias A, Clermont O, Denamur E, Lescat M, Tenaillon O. 2018. Evolution of a dominant natural isolate of Escherichia coli in the human gut over the course of a year suggests a neutral evolution with reduced effective population size. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 84: e02377-17. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.02377-17González-Redondo P. 2007. Estado de las poblaciones y posibilidades de recuperación del conejo doméstico común Español. In Proc.: IV Jornadas Ibéricas de Razas Autóctonas y sus Productos Tradicionales: Innovación, Seguridad y Cultura Alimentarias. Seville (Spain), pp. 367-372.Grimal A., Safaa H.M., Saenz-de-Juano M.D., Viudes-de-Castro M.P., Mehaisen G.M.K., Elsayed D.A.A., Lavara R., Marco Jiménez F., Vicente J.S. 2012. Phylogenetic relationship among four Egyptian and one Spanish rabbit populations based on microsatellite markers. In Proc.: 10th World Rabbit Congress, 3-6 September, 2012, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, pp. 177-181.Guo H., Jiao Y., Tan X., Wang X., Huang X., Huizhe X., Jin H. and. Paterson, A.H. 2019. Gene duplication and genetic innovation in cereal genomes. Genome Res. 29: 261-269. https://doi.org/10.1101/gr.237511.118Guo H., Jiao Y., Tan X., Wang X., Huang X., Jin H., Paterson A.H. Gene duplication and genetic innovation in cereal genomes. Genome Res., 29: 261-269.Gupta A., Bhardwaj A., Supriya, Sharma P., Pal Y., Kumar S. 2015. Mitochondrial DNA- a Tool for Phylogenetic and Biodiversity Search in Equines. J. Biodivers Endanger Species, S1: 006. https://doi.org/10.4172/2332-2543.S1-006Hall S.J.G. 2004. Livestock biodiversity: genetic resources for the farming of the future. Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford, United Kingdom. 280 pp. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470995433Jayaraman R. 2011. Hypermutation and stress adaptation in bacteria. J. Genet., 90: 383-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12041-011-0086-6Kekkonen J., Brommer J.E. 2014. Reducing the loss of genetic diversity associated with assisted colonization-like introductions of animals. Available at http://www.currentzoology.org/site_media/onlinefirst/downloadable_file/2014/12/01/Kekkonen.pdf. Accessed January 2015.Khalil M.H. 2002. The Baladi Rabbits (Egypt). In: Rabbit genetic resources in Mediterranean Countries. Eds. M. H. Khalil and M. Baselga. Options Mediterranéennes Serie B, 38: 39-50.Kim J.H., Byun M.J., Kim M.J., Suh S.W., Ko Y.G., Lee C.W., Jung K.S., Kim E.S., Yu D.J., Kim W.Y., Choi S.B. 2013. MtDNA diversity and phylogenetic state of Korean cattle breed, Chikso. Asian-Australas. J. Anim. Sci., 26: 163-170. https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.2012.12499Librado P., Rozas J. 2009. DnaSP v5: a software for comprehensive analysis of DNA polymorphism data. Bioinformatics, 25: 1451-1452. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btp187Long J.R., Qiu X.P., Zeng F.T., Tang L.M., Zhang Y.P. 2003. Origin of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in China: evidence from mitochondrial DNA control region sequence analysis. Anim. Genet., 34: 82-87. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2052.2003.00945.xMartin-Burriel, I., Marcos, S., Osta R., García-Muro, E., Zaragoza, P. 1996. Genetic characteristics and distances amongst Spanish and French rabbit population. World Rabbit Sci., 4: 121-126. https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.1996.282Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Egypt, FAO (2003). First Report on the state of animal Genetic Resources in the Arab Republic of Egypt. FAO, Rome, pp. 23.Monnerot M., Vigne J.D., Biju-Duval C., Casane D., Callou C., Hardy C., Mougel F., Soriguer R., Dennebouy N., Mounolou J. (1994) Rabbit and man: genetic and historic approach. Genet. Select. 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Seeking consultation for urinary incontinence:Behaviours and barriers among Jordanian women

INTRODUCTION: The rates of seeking consultation for urinary incontinence (UI) and the barriers against consultations vary among countries and study populations and are influenced by various factors such as embarrassment, perception of illness, resources and culture.OBJECTIVES: To study healthcare-seeking behaviours and barriers among Jordanian women.METHODS: Between 1 March 2020 and 15 April 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among women 18 years of age or more who have UI and have access to the internet. We collected women's characteristics, UI types, severity, bother, seeking consultation behaviours and barriers. Logistic regression analyses were used to study the variables associated with seeking consultation.RESULTS: The data of 1454 women with a mean age (SD) of 41.5 (11.5) years were analysed. Mixed UI was the most common type (56.3%), while 43.8% of the participants sought consultation, and 33.8% waited 1 year before seeking consultation. The most common barriers were embarrassment (52.2%), considering UI as a normal occurrence with ageing (41.5%), and limited expectations of improvement from treatment (42.0%). The most common barriers vary according to UI type. Embarrassment was the most commonly reported barrier by women with mixed UI (29.4%), UI as normal with ageing was mostly considered by women with stress UI (11.5%) and treatment for UI is going to be expensive was expressed by women with mixed UI (19.4%). Seeking consultation decreased among women with more educational achievement (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-0.87) with university graduates doing so less than women with high school or less educational achievement. Additionally, seeking consultation was more among women who were aware of a family member with UI (aOR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.03-2.01) compared to women who were not. Also, multiparous women (aOR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.19-2.77) sought consultation more than nulliparous women. Seeking a consultation was more among women who were bothered by the impact of UI on various daily activities, namely, household activities (aOR: 1.42; 95% CI: 0.85-2.37), prayers (aOR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.07-2.71) and sex life (aOR: 2.48; 95% CI: 1.45-4.21) compared to women who were not bothered. Seeking a consultation was less among women who reported embarrassment as a barrier (aOR: 0.534; 95% CI: 0.34-0.84) compared to women who were not embarrassed.CONCLUSION: Four in 10 women with UI sought care, but with a considerable delay between the onset of symptoms and actual care seeking. These outcomes could be explained by the impact of various barriers. Additionally, barriers might vary in different cultures and countries, so culture-sensitive questionnaires should be considered when healthcare-seeking consultations and barriers are studied.</p

Diversity assessment among native Middle Egypt rabbit populations in North Upper-Egypt province by microsatellite polymorphism

[EN] Safeguarding biodiversity is an important goal for animal production in developed countries. This study investigated genetic diversity among native Middle-Egypt rabbit (NMER) populations in North Upper-Egypt province by using microsatellite polymorphism. Nineteen microsatellite loci were used in the study and an area of 231 km was surveyed, as native rabbits covered 14 points belonging to four Northern Upper Egypt governorates (South Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef and Minya). Standard statistical parameters of genetic variability within and between populations confirmed that the highest genetic diversity was found towards the south. Among NMER populations, the mean number of alleles per locus was lowest in South Giza (5.32), while it was highest in Minya (6.00). This study found that NMER featured a high number of private alleles ranging between 7 and 11 (mean value was 10.5). Results also showed a high genetic diversity in NMER populations and that heterozygosity ranged between 0.384 and 0.445, strongly indicating extensive genetic variation in the NMER populations. The mean values of observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.405 and 0.612, respectively. Factorial correspondence analysis and neighbour joining trees (NJ) showed 2 main NMER rabbit groups: the Northern group (South Giza and Fayoum) and the Southern group (Beni Suef and Minya). All populations showed a high percentage of assignment in this study (0.913 to 0.946). The structure analysis showed that each population existed in separate clusters. This research provides an overview of genetic diversity of NMER populations in the Northern Upper Egypt province for the first time. In conclusion, results of this study could be used to designate priorities for conservation of NMER populations.Emam, A.; Azoz, A.; Mehaisen, G.; Ferrand, N.; Ahmed, N. (2017). Diversity assessment among native Middle Egypt rabbit populations in North Upper-Egypt province by microsatellite polymorphism. World Rabbit Science. 25(1):9-16. doi:10.4995/wrs.2017.5298.SWORD916251Abdel-Mawgood A. L. 2012. DNA Based Techniques for Studying Genetic Diversity. In Caliskan M. (Eds.) Genetic Diversity in Microorganisms, 95-122, InTechRijeka, Croatia.Abel-Kafy E. M., Shabaan H. M. A., Azoz, A. A. A., El-Sayed A. F. M., Abdel-Latif A. M. 2011. Descriptions of native rabbit breeds in Middel-Egypt. In Proc.: 4th Egyptian Conference of Rabbit Science. 30th October, 2011, Giza, Egypt.Badawy A.G. 1975. Rabbit Raising, 2nd ed. Central Administration for Agricultural Culture, Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt (in Arabic).Ben Larabi M., San-Cristobal M., Chantry-Darmon C., Bolet G. 2012. Genetic diversity of rabbit populations in Tunisia using microsatellites markers. In Proc.: 10th World Rabbit Congress, 3-6 September, 2012, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.Bolet G., Brun J.M., Monnerot M., Abeni F., Arnal C., Arnold J., Bell D., Bergoglio G., Besenfelder U., Bosze S., Boucher S., Chanteloup N., Ducourouble M.C., Durand-Tardif M., Esteves P.J., Ferrand N., Gautier A., Haas C., Hewitt G., Jehl N., Joly T., Koehl P.F., Laube T., Lechevestrier S., Lopez M., Masoero G., Menigoz J.J., Piccinin R., Queney G., Saleil G., Surridge A., Van Der Loo W., Vicente J.S., Viudes De Castro M.P., Virag G., Zimmermann J.M. 2000. Evaluation and conservation of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) genetic resources. First results and inferences, In Proc.: 7th World Rabbit Congress, 4-7 July, 2000, Valencia, Spain, 281-315.Emam A.M., Afonso S., Azoz A.A.A., González-Redondo P., Mehaisen G.M.K., Ahmed N.A., Ferrand N. 2016. Microsatellite polymorphism in some Egyptian and Spanish common rabbit breeds. In Proc.: 11th World Rabbit Congress, 15-18 June, 2016, Qingdao, China.El-Hentati H., Mhamdi N., Ben Hamouda M., Chriki A. 2013. Analysis of genetic variability within Tunisian Barbarine and Western thin Tail sheep using RAPD-PCR Method. Life Sci. J., 10: 2003-2009.EVANNO, G., REGNAUT, S., & GOUDET, J. (2005). Detecting the number of clusters of individuals using the software structure: a simulation study. Molecular Ecology, 14(8), 2611-2620. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2005.02553.xFAO. 2007. The state of the world's animal genetic resources for food and agriculture, edited by Rischkowsky and Pilling. Rome.Fuller, S. J., Wilson, J. C., & Mather, P. B. (1997). Patterns of differentiation among wild rabbit populations Oryctolagus cuniculus L. in arid and semiarid ecosystems of north‐eastern Australia. Molecular Ecology, 6(2), 145-153. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.1997.00167.xGalal E.S.E., Khalil M.H. 1994. Development of rabbit industry in Egypt. Options Méditerranéennes, Series Cahiers, 8: 43-56.Grimal A., Safaa H.M., Saenz-de-Juano M.D., Viudes-de-Castro M.P., Mehaisen G.M.K., Elsayed D.A.A., Lavara R., Marco-Jiménez F., Vicente J.S. 2012. Phylogenetic relationship among four Egyptian and one Spanish rabbit populations based on microsatellite markers. In Proc.: 10th World Rabbit Congress, 3-6 September, 2012, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.Ormandy E.H., Dale J., Griffin G. 2011. Genetic engineering of animals: Ethical issues, including welfare concerns. Can. Vet. J., 52: 544-550.Pritchard J.K., Stephens M., Donnelly P. 2000. Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data. Genetics, 155: 945-959

Cryosurvival of rabbit embryos obtained after superovulation with corifollitropin alfa with or without LH

[EN] The efficiency of an embryo bank depends on provision of optimal conditions for recovery, cryopreservation and transfer to a breed or strain. In this sense, increasing the number of embryos available using superovulation should improve the cryobank efficiency. However, vagueness of response to conventional protocols to control or increase ovarian response and the quality of oocytes and embryos and their cryotolerance remain a challenge. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of corifollitropin alpha (CTP) and a recombinant human FSH (rhFSH), alone or supplemented with rhLH, on embryo cryosurvival by in vitro development and OCT4 and NANOG mRNA abundance at blastocyst stage and offspring rate. In vitro development of vitrified embryos was not significantly affected by superstimulation with or without rhLH supplementation, resulting in similar development rates to those of the control groups (fresh and vitrified embryos from non-superstimulated donor does). Blastocysts developed from vitrified embryos showed higher levels of OCT4 transcript abundance than fresh control, while NANOG transcript abundance was only higher in the blastocysts developed from vitrified embryos after superstimulation treatment in comparison with control groups. The implantation and offspring rates at birth were negatively affected by supplementation with rhLH. Both rhFSH or CTP vitrified embryo groups showed an implantation rate similar to those of the control groups, but an offspring rate lower than control. In conclusion, embryos produced using corifollitropin alpha did not compromise the cryosurvival of vitrified embryos in the rabbit. In addition, this study points out the negative effect of rhLH supplementation in terms of offspring rate on embryo vitrification.This research was supported by the projects: Spanish Research project AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CICYT) and Generalitat Valenciana research programme (Prometeo II 2014/036). English text version revised by N. Macowan English Language Service.Vicente Antón, JS.; Viudes De Castro, MP.; Cedano-Castro, JI.; Marco-Jiménez, F. (2018). Cryosurvival of rabbit embryos obtained after superovulation with corifollitropin alfa with or without LH. Animal Reproduction Science. 192:321-327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anireprosci.2018.03.034S32132719

Effects of Female Dietary Restriction in a Rabbit Growth Line During Rearing on Reproductive Performance and Embryo Quality

[EN] Maternal diet prior to mating has an effect on reproductive performance. We analysed the effect of maternal dietary restriction during rearing on reproductive performance, the embryo development and foetal growth. Females were categorized in two groups: (i) does with ad libitum access to feed or (ii) restricted. Two experiments were performed: (i) after 1 month, receptive females from both experimental groups were artificially inseminated and the reproductive performance was recorded during three reproductive cycles; at the first insemination, the body weight and perirenal fat thickness were recorded, and (ii) females from both experimental groups were inseminated, and 24 h later, embryos were recovered and transferred to recipient females from a maternal line. Later, embryonic implantation was assessed at day 14 by laparoscopy and foetal growth was monitored by ultrasound examination. In experiment 1, no differences in kindling rate was found, but prolificacy was showed to be higher in ad libitum does, which also were heavier than restricted ones. In experiment 2, no differences among does either in body weight, in perirenal fat thickness or in reproductive performance (ovulation rate and embryo recovery rate) were related to differences in feed intake. However, despite similar embryonic implantation losses, embryos from restricted females demonstrated higher foetal and gestational losses. Embryos from restricted does presented lower foetal growth than embryos from ad libitum does. Therefore, our results demonstrated that nutrition before first conception in a rabbit line selected for growth rate may impact on the embryo and results in a disturbance in gestational losses and foetal growth over all reproductive life.This work was supported by the Spanish Research Project (CICYT AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P). C. Naturil-Alfonso was supported by a research grant from Generalitat Valenciana (Programa VALI+d, ACIF/2013/296). R. Lavara acknowledges the partial support received from Generalitat Valenciana under VALid+ programme (APOST/2014/034) and from MICINN under the posdoctoral programme FPDI-2013-16707. English text version was revised by N. Macowan English Language Service.Naturil Alfonso, C.; Lavara García, R.; Vicente Antón, JS.; Marco Jiménez, F. (2016). Effects of Female Dietary Restriction in a Rabbit Growth Line During Rearing on Reproductive Performance and Embryo Quality. Reproduction in Domestic Animals. 51(1):114-122. https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.12653S114122511Anguita, B., Paramio, M.-T., Jiménez-Macedo, A. R., Morató, R., Mogas, T., & Izquierdo, D. (2008). Total RNA and protein content, Cyclin B1 expression and developmental competence of prepubertal goat oocytes. 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Embryo vitrification in rabbits: Consequences for progeny growth

[EN] The objective of this research is to examine if there are any effects of the rederivation procedures on rabbit growth pattern and on weight of different organ in adults. For this purpose, three experiments were conducted on two different groups of animals (control group and vitrified transferred group) to evaluate the possible effect of embryo manipulation (vitrification and transfer procedures) on future growth traits. The first experiment studies body weight from 1 to 9 weeks of age from the two groups. The second experiment describes the growth curve of progeny from experimental groups and analyzes their Gompertz curve parameters, including the estimation of adult body weight. The third experiment has been developed to study if there are any differences in different organ weight in adult males from the two experimental groups. In general, the results indicate that rederivation procedures had effect on the phenotypic expression of growth traits. The results showed that rabbit produced by vitrification and embryo transfer had higher body weight in the first four weeks of age than control progeny. Results from body weight (a parameter) and b parameter estimated by fitting the Gompertz growth curve did not show any difference between experimental groups. However, differences related with growth velocity (k parameter of the Gompertz curve) were observed among them, showing that the control group had higher growth velocity than the vitrified transferred group. In addition, we found that liver weight at 40th week of age exhibits significant differences between the experimental groups. The liver weight was higher in the control males than in the VF males. Although the present results indicate that vitrification and transfer procedures might affect some traits related with growth in rabbits, further research is needed to assess the mechanisms involved in the appearance of these phenotypes and if these phenotypes could be transferred to the future progeny.This study was supported by the Generalitat Valenciana research program (Prometeo II 2014/036) and Spanish Research Projects (CICYT AGL2011-29831-C03-01; AGL2014-53405-C2-1-P). Lavara R. acknowledges the partial support received from Generalitat Valenciana under VALid+ program (APOST/2014/034) and from Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under subprogramme "Formacion posdoctoral" (FPDI-2013-16707).Lavara García, R.; Baselga Izquierdo, M.; Marco Jiménez, F.; Vicente Antón, JS. (2015). Embryo vitrification in rabbits: Consequences for progeny growth. Theriogenology. 84(5):674-680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.04.025S67468084

Transcriptome profiling of rabbit parthenogenetic blastocysts developed under in vivo conditions

Parthenogenetic embryos are one attractive alternative as a source of embryonic stem cells, although many aspects related to the biology of parthenogenetic embryos and parthenogenetically derived cell lines still need to be elucidated. The present work was conducted to investigate the gene expression profile of rabbit parthenote embryos cultured under in vivo conditions using microarray analysis. Transcriptomic profiles indicate 2541 differentially expressed genes between parthenotes and normal in vivo fertilised blastocysts, of which 76 genes were upregulated and 16 genes downregulated in in vivo cultured parthenote blastocyst, using 3 fold-changes as a cut-off. While differentially upregulated expressed genes are related to transport and protein metabolic process, downregulated expressed genes are related to DNA and RNA binding. Using microarray data, 6 imprinted genes were identified as conserved among rabbits, humans and mice: GRB10, ATP10A, ZNF215, NDN, IMPACT and SFMBT2. We also found that 26 putative genes have at least one member of that gene family imprinted in other species. These data strengthen the view that a large fraction of genes is differentially expressed between parthenogenetic and normal embryos cultured under the same conditions and offer a new approach to the identification of imprinted genes in rabbit. © 2012 Naturil-Alfonso et al.This work was supported by Generalitat Valenciana research programme (Prometeo 2009/125). Carmen Naturil was supported by Generalitat Valenciana research programme (Prometeo 2009/125). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Naturil Alfonso, C.; Saenz De Juano Ribes, MDLD.; Peñaranda, D.; Vicente Antón, JS.; Marco Jiménez, F. (2012). Transcriptome profiling of rabbit parthenogenetic blastocysts developed under in vivo conditions. PLoS ONE. 7(12):1-11. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0051271S111712Harness, J. 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Environmental sensitivity differs between rabbit lines selectedfor reproductive intensity and longevity

To better understand the mechanisms that allow some animals to sustain their productive effort in harsh environmental conditions, rabbit does from two selection lines (LP and V) were housed in normal (NC), nutritional (NF) or heat (HC) challenging environmental conditions from first to third partum. The LP line (n=85) was founded on reproductive longevity criteria by selecting does from commercial farms that had a minimum of 25 partum with more than 7.5 kits born alive per parity. Line V (n=79) was constituted from four specialised maternal lines into a composite synthetic line and then selected by litter size at weaning for 36 generations. Female rabbits in NC and NF environments were housed at normal room temperature (18 degrees C to 24 degrees C) and fed with control [11.6 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg dry matter (DM)] or low-energy diets (9.1 MJ DE/kg DM). HC does were housed at high room temperatures (25 degrees C to 35 degrees C) and fed the control diet. Female rabbits in the HC and NF environments ingested 11.5% and 6% less DE than NC does, respectively (P<0.05). These differences between environments occurred in both lines, with the differences being higher for LP than for V does (+6%; P<0.05). Milk yield responses followed those of energy intake also being higher for LP does (+21.3 g/day; P<0.05). The environmental conditions did not affect the perirenal fat thickness (PFT), but a genotype by environment interaction was observed. In NC and HC, the PFT was higher for line V (+0.23 and +0.35 mm, respectively; P<0.05) than for LP does, but this was not the case at NF (-0.01 mm). Moreover, the PFT evolution was different between them. In the NC environment, LP does used the accreted PFT in late lactation (-0.29 mm), whereas V does did not (-0.08 mm). Conversely, in the HC environment, LP does showed a flat PFT evolution in late lactation, whereas V does accumulated PFT. In the NF environment, LP and V does had a similar PFT evolution. There was also a litter size reduction for V does of -2.59 kits total born in HC and -1.78 kits total born in NF environments, whereas this was not observed for LP does. The results for LP does indicate a direct use of DE ingested for reproduction with little PFT change, whereas V does actively use the PFT reserves for reproduction.The authors thank Juan Carlos Moreno, Luis Rodenas and Eugenio Martinez-Paredes for their technical support and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Project AGL2011-30170-C02-01) for the budget to conduct this study.Savietto, D.; Cervera Fras, MC.; Blas Ferrer, E.; Baselga Izquierdo, M.; Larsen, T.; Friggens, NC.; Pascual Amorós, JJ. (2013). Environmental sensitivity differs between rabbit lines selectedfor reproductive intensity and longevity. animal. 7(12):1969-1977. https://doi.org/10.1017/S175173111300178XS19691977712Vicente, J. S., Llobat, L., Viudes-de-Castro, M. P., Lavara, R., Baselga, M., & Marco-Jiménez, F. (2012). 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