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The ovarian follicle of ruminants: the path from conceptus to adult

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posted on 2023-05-03, 17:46 authored by Jenny JuengelJenny Juengel, Robert Cushman, Joelle Dupont, Stephane Fabre, Richard Lea, Graeme Martin, Francesca Mossa, Janet Pitman, Christopher Price, Peter SmithPeter Smith
This review resulted from an international workshop and presents a consensus view of critical advances over the past decade in our understanding of follicle function in ruminants. The major concepts covered include: (1) the value of major genes; (2) the dynamics of fetal ovarian development and its sensitivity to nutritional and environmental influences; (3) the concept of an ovarian follicle reserve, aligned with the rise of anti-Müllerian hormone as a controller of ovarian processes; (4) renewed recognition of the diverse and important roles of theca cells; (5) the importance of follicular fluid as a microenvironment that determines oocyte quality; (6) the ‘adipokinome’ as a key concept linking metabolic inputs with follicle development; and (7) the contribution of follicle development to the success of conception. These concepts are important because, in sheep and cattle, ovulation rate is tightly regulated and, as the primary determinant of litter size, it is a major component of reproductive efficiency and therefore productivity. Nowadays, reproductive efficiency is also a target for improving the ‘methane efficiency’ of livestock enterprises, increasing the need to understand the processes of ovarian development and folliculogenesis, while avoiding detrimental trade-offs as greater performance is sought.

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Rights statement

© CSIRO 2021 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Language

  • English

Does this contain Māori information or data?

  • No

Publisher

CSIRO

Journal title

Reproduction, Fertility and Development

ISSN

1031-3613

Citation

Juengel, J. L., Cushman, R. A., Dupont, J., Fabre, S., Lea, R. G., Martin, G. B., … Smith, P. (2021). The ovarian follicle of ruminants: the path from conceptus to adult. Reproduction, Fertility and Development. doi:10.1071/RD21086

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