Author:
Rosales-Nieto César A.,Rodríguez-Aguilar Maribel,Santiago-Hernandez Francisco,Cuevas-Reyes Venancio,Flores-Najera Manuel J.,Vázquez-García Juan M.,Urrutia-Morales Jorge,Ghaffari Morteza Hosseini,Meza-Herrera César A.,González-Bulnes Antonio,Martin Graeme B.
Abstract
AbstractWe tested whether periconceptional nutrition with cladodes from the cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica, with or without protein-enrichment, improved the metabolomic profile and reproductive outcomes of adult female sheep. Sixty Rambouillet ewes of similar body weight were randomly allocated among three nutritional treatments that were fed during the breeding period (34 days): Control (Control; n = 20), Opuntia (Opuntia; n = 20) and protein-enriched Opuntia (E-Opuntia; n = 20). There were no effects of treatment on body weight but assessment of urine samples indicated that, for 76 metabolites, the Control and Opuntia groups differed completely (P < 0.05), whereas there was overlap between the Control and E-Opuntia groups. It appears that, in Opuntia-fed and Control-fed sheep, different functional groups are activated leading to changes in the metabolism of glucose, tyrosine, methane, and glycerolipids. Fertility and reproductive rate tended to be higher in the Opuntia (70% and 95%) and E-Opuntia (90% and 110%) groups than in the Control (55% and 65%), and an orthogonal contrast revealed the difference between Control and Opuntia to be significant for both reproductive variables (P < 0.05). We conclude that nutritional supplementation with Opuntia cladodes, with or without protein enrichment, increased fertility rate and reproductive rate of female sheep, without any accompanying increases in body weight. Our observations suggest that the reproductive responses to Opuntia do not simply reflect a response to good nutrition, but might be caused by specific metabolites/metabolomic pathways, perhaps by an activation of the metabolism of glucose, methane, tyrosine and glycerolipids. There are few reports relating these metabolomic compounds with the metabolism of the sheep, let alone with reproductive efficiency. The novelty of these discoveries suggests that we need further research into the mechanisms through which nutrition affects the reproductive system.
Funder
Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference56 articles.
1. Huenneke, L. F., Anderson, J. P., Remmenga, M. & Schlesinger, W. H. Desertification alters patterns of aboveground net primary production in Chihuahuan ecosystems. Glob. Change Biol. 8, 247–264 (2002).
2. Cuevas-Reyes, V. & Rosales-Nieto, C. Characterization of the dual-purpose bovine system in northwest Mexico: Producers, resources and problematic. Revista MVZ Córdoba 23, 6448–6460 (2018).
3. Tovar-Luna, I. Goat production in Mexico—Overview of the industry and its production practices. Proceeding of the 24th Annual Goat Field Day, Langston University, April 25 (2009).
4. Blache, D., Vercoe, P. E., Martin, G. B. & Revell, D. K. Integrated and innovative livestock production in drylands. In Innovations in Dryland Agriculture (eds Farooq, M. & Siddique, K. H. M.) (Springer, 2016).
5. Gámez Vázquez, H. G. et al. Tillandsia recurvata and its chemical value as an alternative use for feeding ruminants in northern Mexico. J. Appl. Anim. Res. 46, 295–300 (2018).