Physiological mechanisms through which heat stress compromises reproduction in pigs

Thumbnail Image
Date
2017-09-01
Authors
Ross, Jason
Hale, Benjamin
Seibert, Jacob
Romoser, Matthew
Adur, Malavika
Keating, Aileen
Baumgard, Lance
Major Professor
Advisor
Committee Member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Authors
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Organizational Unit
Journal Issue
Is Version Of
Versions
Series
Department
Animal Science
Abstract

Seasonal variations in environmental temperatures impose added stress on domestic species bred for economically important production traits. These heat‐mediated stressors vary on a seasonal, daily, or spatial scale, and negatively impact behavior and reduce feed intake and growth rate, which inevitably lead to reduced herd productivity. The seasonal infertility observed in domestic swine is primarily characterized by depressed reproductive performance, which manifests as delayed puberty onset, reduced farrowing rates, and extended weaning‐to‐estrus intervals. Understanding the effects of heat stress at the organismal, cellular, and molecular level is a prerequisite to identifying mitigation strategies that should reduce the economic burden of compromised reproduction. In this review, we discuss the effect of heat stress on an animal's ability to maintain homeostasis in multiple systems via several hypothalamic‐pituitary‐end organ axes. Additionally, we discuss our understanding of epigenetic programming and how hyperthermia experienced in utero influences industry‐relevant postnatal phenotypes. Further, we highlight the recent recognized mechanisms by which distant tissues and organs may molecularly communicate via extracellular vesicles, a potentially novel mechanism contributing to the heat‐stress response.

Comments

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ross, Jason W., Benjamin J. Hale, Jacob T. Seibert, Matthew R. Romoser, Malavika K. Adur, Aileen F. Keating, and Lance H. Baumgard. "Physiological mechanisms through which heat stress compromises reproduction in pigs." Molecular reproduction and development 84, no. 9 (2017): 934-945, which has been published in final form at doi: 10.1002/mrd.22859. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.

Description
Keywords
Citation
DOI
Copyright
Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2017
Collections