Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) as a predictor of antral follicle population in heifers.

Christopher Júnior Tavares Cardoso,Fernanda Amarante Mendes De Oliveira,Mirela Brochado Souza-Cáceres,Guilherme De Paula Nogueira,Fabiana De Andrade Melo-Sterza,Wilian Aparecido Leite Da Silva,Jair Sábio De Oliveira Junior,Henrique Kischel,Ériklis Nogueira,Elielton Dias Da Silva Arruda

doi:10.21451/1984-3143-2017-ar887

Abstract

Antral follicular population (AFP) and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration are strongly associated. Thus, analyzing AMH concentration is a reliable method to predict animals with high AFP, an important feature to select donor cows for embryos and oocytes. However, not much is known about this parameter in heifers, particularly in crossbred animals. The aim of this study was to assess AFP in heifers and cows and its relation to serum AMH levels. Bos taurus indicus cows (36–60-months-old; n = 30) and heifers (12–14-months-old; n = 17) of the same breed were evaluated. A single procedure of follicular counting was performed by ultrasound for each animal. Random sampling was performed to analyze serum AMH concentration. Cows showed higher AFP than heifers; nonetheless, plasma AMH concentration did not differ between the categories. A high correlation of AFP with plasma AMH concentration was observed in Girolando heifers. Thus, it is suggested that AMH concentration could be a reliable and less invasive method for selecting heifers with high AFP.

Highlights

Taking advantage of the rusticity of the Gir breed and the dairy productivity of the Holstein breed, Girolando cows are currently the main breed for milk production in Brazil, comprising around 80% of the dairy cattle in the country (Borges et al, 2012)
A high correlation between Antral follicular population (AFP) and antiMüllerian hormone (AMH) concentration (r = 0.87; P = 0.0102) was observed in heifers; this correlation was not observed in cows (r = 0.48; P = 0.1351; Figure 1)
The present study showed a remarkable difference in AFP between heifers and cows

Summary

Introduction

Taking advantage of the rusticity of the Gir breed and the dairy productivity of the Holstein breed, Girolando cows are currently the main breed for milk production in Brazil, comprising around 80% of the dairy cattle in the country (Borges et al, 2012). The first calving age is approximately 35 months for 3⁄4 Holstein × 1⁄4 Gir cows, (Silva et al, 2014), a high variability among herds (lineages) has been observed. Strategies are needed to reduce the age for first calving and to select animals with higher genetic potential to attain the desired traits. High correlation of AFP with in vivo and in vitro embryo production may be used as an auxiliary tool to select donor cows for embryos and oocytes (Silva-Santos et al, 2014a; Baruselli et al, 2015; Ghanem et al, 2016)

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Conclusion