Original Scientific Article
Induction and formation of accessory corpus luteum after artificial insemination (AI) might increase pregnancy rate per AI in heat stressed dairy cows
Boris Stojanov ,
Branko Atanasov ,
Juraj Grizelj ,
Silvio Vince ,
Martin Nikolovski ,
Miroslav Kjosevski ,
Toni Dovenski * ,
Nikola Adamov ,
Ksenija Ilievska ,
Marko Samardzija

Mac Vet Rev 2020; 43 (1): 37 - 43

10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0012

Received: 10 October 2019

Received in revised form: 10 January 2020

Accepted: 19 January 2020

Available Online First: 06 February 2020

Published on: 15 March 2020

Correspondence: Toni Dovenski, dovenski@fvm.ukim.edu.mk
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Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate whether the induction and the formation of an accessory corpus luteum (CL) after AI might increase the pregnancy per AI (P/AI) in heat stressed dairy cows. Starting at d 50±3 post-partum, 113 lactating Holstein cows from one commercial herd during summer were scored for body condition, blood sampled and examined by ultrasound. Those bearing a CL>25mm and progesterone (P4) level>2ng/mL were synchronized using a double PGF2α injection given 12 h apart and AI-ed at detected estrus. In total 18 cows, there were not any signs of estrus (n=10) nor a P4 level <2ng/mL at the time of enrolment (n=8) and therefore they were excluded from the study, leading to 95 cows finally enrolled.. At d5 post-AI, cows were randomly allocated into 2 groups: control group (CON, n=45) without any additional treatment, and treatment group (GnRH, n=50), treated with 0.008 mg Buserelin – a GnRH agonist. Blood sampling and ultrasound examination were done at d5, d14 and at d21 after AI, whereas the pregnancy diagnosis was done at d21 and d30 after AI. Average daily temperature and relative humidity values were used to calculate the temperature-humidity index (THI). The average THI during the experiment was 79.5±0.6. At d5, no differences were observed neither between the number of the CL nor between the P4 level in both groups. At d14 and d21, 82% of the GnRH-treated cows had more than one CL versus 0% of the CON cows. Both at d14 and 21, GnRH-treated cows had higher P4 levels compared to the CON cows (p<0.05). In addition, P/AI were higher in the GnRH group than in the CON group (65% vs. 48.3%, p<0.05), whereas late embryonic losses were higher in CON in comparison to GnRH cows (10.6 vs. 4%, respectively). The BCS at the moment of insemination did not affect P/AI (p>0.05). In conclusion, the induction of an accessory CL at d 5 after AI might increase P/AI in heat stressed dairy cows.

Keywords: CL, AI, pregnancy rate, heat stress, cow

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Copyright

© 2020 Stojanov B. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 43, Issue 1, Pages 37-43, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0012, 2020

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.