Zygote. 2016 Dec 7:1-5. [Epub ahead of print]
A preliminary study of the effects of organic farming on oocyte quality in ewe lambs.
- 1IUCA Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular y Celular,Facultad de Veterinaria,Zaragoza,Spain.
- 2Departamento de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos,Facultad de Veterinaria,Zaragoza,Spain.
- 3Instituto
Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Ambientales (IUCA)
Department de Producción Animal y Ciencia de los Alimentos,Facultad de
Veterinaria,Miguel Servet,177,50013 Zaragoza,Spain.
Abstract
This
study tested whether feeding Rasa Aragonesa ewes certified organic
feed, from 15 days before mating until lamb weaning, improved oocyte
quality and in vitro maturation (IVM) and fertilization (IVF)
performances of the offspring. In a second experiment, ovaries from ewe
lambs that were bred on an organic farm and were of the same breed were
compared with those from conventionally bred animals. The number (±
standard error of the mean) of healthy oocytes per ewe lamb did not
differ significantly between organic (12.2 ± 3.3) and conventionally
(13.6 ± 4.0) fed ewes. Ovaries from ewe lambs born on an organic farm
had significantly (P < 0.0001) more healthy oocytes per ewe lamb
(39.6 ± 5.2) than did those born on a conventional farm (25.0 ± 4.2),
and higher IVM (76.5% vs. 53.1%, P < 0.0001) and IVF (97.3 vs. 91%, P
< 0.05) rates. In conclusion, this preliminary approach to the study
of the effect of organic procedures on the sheep oocyte quality
indicates that the total integration in the complete organic system
improved the oocyte quality of ewe lambs, although organic feeding alone
was insufficient to improve quality.
KEYWORDS:
In vitro
; Feeding; Oocyte; Organic; Sheep
