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Beneficial effects of a high fibre diet on oocyte maturity and embryo survival in gilts

Sustainable Livestock Systems Group, SAC, Roslin BioCentre, Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS, UK ¹ Division of Animal Physiology, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK and ² University of Newcastle, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

Correspondence should be addressed to C J Ashworth; Email: cheryl.ashworth{at}sac.ac.uk

The present study examined the effects of feeding gilts a high fibre diet from the third post-pubertal oestrus until either day 19 of the same cycle or insemination at the following oestrus on oocyte maturity, embryo survival and associated changes in reproductive hormone concentrations. Gilts fed with the high fibre diet had lower circulating oestradiol concentrations on days 17, 18 and 19 of the cycle and increased LH pulse frequency on day 18. More oocytes recovered on day 19 from gilts receiving the high fibre diet were at metaphase II after 46-h culture in medium containing 10% of their own follicular fluid, despite fewer large (>7 mm) follicles in these gilts when compared with control animals. There was no effect of diet on ovulation rate, corpora lutea size or progesterone concentrations on days 10–12 after insemination, but embryo survival on days 27–29 after insemination was higher in gilts that received the high fibre diet. This study demonstrates that a high fibre diet that increases embryo survival also improves oocyte maturity and provides information on endocrine correlates that may shed light on underlying mechanisms.

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