Summary. Over a 3-year period, 32 Dall's sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) embryos were transferred into 24 domestic sheep (O. aries) recipients and 4 were transferred into 2 Dall's sheep recipients. In the first year, none of the 10 O. aries recipients was diagnosed pregnant. In the following 2 years, 9 (37%) of the domestic sheep recipients were pregnant on Day 18, 8 (33%) on Day 40, 6 (25%) on Day 90 and 4 (16%) on Day 120; 1 aborted at Day 125 and another at Day 145. Pregnancies were established only in ewes that had previously been recipients of Dall's sheep embryos. The 2 remaining pregnant sheep were treated with progesterone from Day 125 until the fetuses were determined to be dead at Day 145. Both of the Dall's sheep recipients (Year 2) established pregnancies; 1 live Dall's sheep lamb was born 174 days after mating. No differences in serum progesterone, oestrone, prostaglandin F-2α metabolites or cortisol concentrations could be detected during pregnancy between recipients carrying Dall's sheep embryos, recipients receiving progesterone treatment or domestic ewes carrying domestic sheep pregnancies. Six fetuses were necropsied (1 at Day 125 and 5 at Day 145–146): all fetuses were premature and had various degrees of hydranencephaly. No significant differences were found when cotyledon numbers were compared among domestic ewes carrying Dall's sheep lambs, Dall's sheep ewes lambing naturally and domestic ewes lambing naturally. These results demonstrate that the transfer of Dall's sheep embryos to domestic ewes results in the establishment but subsequent loss of pregnancy and that these losses occur throughout gestation. Keywords: sheep; embryo transfer; interspecies; pregnancy failure; superovulation
A 32-day-old, hand-reared, captive-born female clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) cub presented as being unable to stand, ambulate, or adduct both hind limbs. The cub exhibited hyperextension of both tarsal joints and a flattened thorax, which limited mobility to “swimmer-like” movements. Neither congenital defects nor neurologic deficits were observed during the medical examination. Radiographic examination showed the thorax was compressed dorsoventrally, but no other skeletal abnormalities were detected. Based on clinical signs, the condition was more consistent with swimmer syndrome, which has been described in young offspring of several domestic species. Over the course of 3 wk, affected limbs were treated by intensive physiotherapy, corrective bandages were applied, and thermotherapy was used to improve circulation, which resulted in a complete recovery and development of subsequent normal ambulation. It is concluded that early diagnosis and treatment of this condition led to the resolution of clinical signs, resulting in normal development of the clouded leopard cub reported here.
Methods of cryopreservation for spermatozoa from domestic cat epididymides and vasa deferentia were compared as models for posthumous gamete salvage from non-domestic felids. Spermatozoa were collected either immediately after castration (Fresh, n = 37) or after being cooled (5 degrees C) in tissue overnight (Cool, n = 37) and released into one of three extenders containing 20% egg yolk and 3% glycerol for cryopreservation: (1) TE: Tris buffer, citric acid and fructose; (2) TC: Tris buffer, citric acid and glucose, or (3) CP: lactose, and frozen over lipid nitrogen. Before and after freezing, each sperm cell sample was evaluated for motility and percentage morphologically normal cells. Samples were also evaluated for their ability to initiate fertilization using a zona attachment assay. Neither percentage morphologically normal spermatozoa nor percentage motility differed among the three diluents for prefreeze and post-thaw samples, regardless of the collection treatment. However, CP tended to provide lower post-thaw status than did the TE and TC cryoextenders. Before freezing, there was no difference in percentage motility between the Fresh and Cool groups (mean: 76 versus 72%, respectively); however, progressive status and normal morphology were lower (P < 0.05) in Cool (3.0 and 57%) than in Fresh (3.4 and 64%) samples. After thawing there was a greater decline (P < 0.05) in percentage motility in the Cool than in the Fresh group (34 versus 24%) and the number of intact acrosomes dropped from prefreeze values of 66.7 +/- 6.3 and 56.4 +/- 4.8% to 17.8 +/- 3.9 and 20.9 +/- 4.6% after thawing in the Fresh and Cool groups, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A current priority for the preservation of the endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) is the development of a sperm-based genome resource bank. The aims of this study were to examine the effects of (i) holding temperature on the motility of spermatozoa over time, and (ii) cooling methods on the characteristics of spermatozoa after cooling and cryopreservation. Electroejaculates (n = 11; fresh) were evaluated for the percentage of motile spermatozoa, cell and acrosome morphology (Spermac (Meditech 1st Canada Inc, Montreal, Ontario) and fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled Pisum sativum agglutinin lectin (PSA/FITC; Sigma Diagnostics, Oakville, Ontario) staining), and zona penetration. Semen samples were then divided into two equal samples and centrifuged to remove seminal plasma. One half of the ejaculate sample was re-suspended in sperm-Tyrode's albumin lactate pyruvate (TALP), divided into three aliquots and maintained either at room temperature (approximately 21-23 degrees C), 0 degree C or 37 degrees C. Sperm motility was examined at 0.5 and 1.0 h, and subsequently every hour for 10 h. Motility of spermatozoa decreased after 2 h, but was consistently greater at room temperature than at 37 degrees C or 0 degree C. The other half of the ejaculate sample was re-suspended in an egg yolk-based extender and divided into two aliquots. One aliquot was cooled in a refrigerator (5 degrees C) for 30 min, whereas the second aliquot was put into a beaker containing water at 37 degrees C, which was then placed into an ice bath until the sample reached 0 degree C (approximately 120 min). Spermatozoa were evaluated after cooling and after freezing and thawing treatments. No differences were observed between cooling treatments either after cooling or freezing and thawing. However, marked decreases in intact acrosomes, post-thaw motility and normal morphology of spermatozoa after treatment demonstrate that further investigations are necessary to improve cryopreservation methods in this species.
Captive breeding is used for the conservation of endangered species, but inbreeding can result when a small number of founders are used to establish populations. Inbreeding can reduce the proportion of normal sperm in an ejaculate, but may also have effects on sperm size and shape (morphometry). We investigated the effects of inbreeding on sperm morphometry of black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes (Audubon and Bachman, 1851)) and red wolves (Canis rufus Audubon and Bachman, 1851) from captive breeding programs to determine if more inbred males produced sperm of poor quality (bulky head, small midpiece, short tail). We measured sperm head length, head width, midpiece length, midpiece width, and tail length on 10 sperm from each male of both species. A negative relationship between variation in sperm tail length and inbreeding coefficient (f) was found in black-footed ferret, suggesting that more inbred individuals will have reduced genetic and phenotypic variation. Analyses indicated a negative relationship between sperm head width and f and a positive relationship between sperm tail length and f in red wolf, suggesting that more inbred male red wolves could have faster sperm. These results indicate that inbreeding affects functionally important aspects of sperm morphometry, but that these effects may not be entirely negative.
We evaluated the analgesic efficacy of epidural morphine for relieving postoperative pain in domestic ferrets by evaluating behavior and fecal cortisol concentrations. The 12 laboratory-reared, intact, female, domestic ferrets were anesthetized then underwent ovariohysterectomy and bilateral anal sacculectomy. Using a double-blind procedure, we provided epidural morphine (0.1 mg/kg) to six ferrets and epidural saline (0.1 mL/ferret) to the remaining animals prior to surgery. Compared to the animals that received saline, the morphine-treated ferrets were more likely to have attenuated pain responses, and they returned more rapidly to preoperative behavior. Although fecal cortisol concentrations during the first 24 h after surgery increased in all animals, the increase was statistically significant only in the ferrets that received saline epidurals. These data suggest that morphine epidurals administered to ferrets prior to surgery may attenuate both the physiologic and behavioral manifestations of surgically induced pain.
