Objectives of this experiment were to characterize the effects of ram plane of nutrition on body composition, concentrations of hormones and metabolites, sperm characteristics, and offspring outcomes. Mature Rambouillet rams (n = 24, BW = 82.9 ± 2.63 kg) were individually housed and randomly assigned to either a positive (POS; n = 8), maintenance (MAINT; n = 8), or negative (NEG; n = 8) plane of nutrition for an 84-day feeding period. Rams were fed a common diet, with daily feed allocations adjusted weekly based on body weight (BW) to achieve the targeted weight gain or loss (approximately 12% of initial BW). On 0, 28, 56, and 84-d, body condition score (BCS) and scrotal circumference (SC) were recorded, and blood and semen were collected. Following the feeding period, rams were placed in pens with 10 ewes each for a 28-d breeding period. Ewes were managed similarly throughout gestation and body weight and measurements were recorded at birth and weaning. Data were analyzed as repeated measures in time where appropriate with the Mixed procedure of SAS, and individual ram was the experimental unit for all analysis. Ram BW was influenced by a treatment × day interaction (P < 0.001), with POS (0.12 ± 0.01 kg) having greater daily weight change than MAINT (0.1 ± 0.01 kg), which was greater than NEG (-0.12 ± 0.01 kg). Ram BCS and SC were influenced by treatment × day interactions (P ≤ 0.01), being similar on d 0 but POS being greater than NEG by d 56. Concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3) and T3:T4 ratio exhibited treatment × day interactions (P ≤ 0.02), as POS had greater values than NEG by d 84 (P ≤ 0.02). Concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 was greater in POS than MAINT and NEG (P ≤ 0.02), and non-esterified fatty acids and thyroxine (T4) were influenced by a day effect (P ≤ 0.01), but testosterone was unaffected (P ≥ 0.09). Minimal differences in semen volume, sperm concentration, motility, or morphology were observed among treatments (P ≥ 0.31). A similar proportion of ewes bred by rams in the respective treatments lambed and weaned lambs (P ≥ 0.54). Birth weight, chest circumference, and shoulder-hip length were greater (P ≤ 0.05) in NEG lambs compared with POS and MAINT; however, no differences were detected in weaning weight and weaning body measurements (P ≥ 0.40). Findings suggest paternal nutrition during the period of sperm development may influence offspring outcomes, potentially as a result of in utero programming of paternal origin.

中文翻译：

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成熟公羊的营养差异会影响身体成分、激素和代谢物浓度以及后代出生测量，但不会影响精液特征或后代生长


该实验的目的是表征公羊营养平面对身体成分、激素和代谢物浓度、精子特征和后代结果的影响。将成熟朗布依埃公羊（n = 24，体重 = 82.9 ± 2.63 kg）单独圈养，并随机分配为阳性（POS；n = 8）、维持（MAINT；n = 8）或阴性（NEG；n = 8） ) 84 天喂养期的营养平面。公羊采用普通饮食，每周根据体重 (BW) 调整每日饲料分配，以实现目标体重增加或减少（约初始体重的 12%）。在第0、28、56和84天，记录身体状况评分（BCS）和阴囊周长（SC），并收集血液和精液。饲养期结束后，公羊被放入围栏中，每只母羊有 10 只，进行 28 天的繁殖期。对母羊在整个妊娠期和体重进行类似的管理，并在出生和断奶时记录测量结果。在适当的情况下，使用 SAS 的混合程序，以重复测量的方式对数据进行分析，并且单个公羊是所有分析的实验单位。 Ram BW 受到治疗 × 天交互作用的影响 (P < 0.001)，POS (0.12 ± 0.01 kg) 的每日体重变化大于 MAINT (0.1 ± 0.01 kg)，MAINT 大于 NEG (-0.12 ± 0.01 kg) ）。公羊 BCS 和 SC 受到治疗 × 天数交互作用的影响 (P ≤ 0.01)，在第 0 天相似，但 POS 在第 56 天时大于 NEG。三碘甲状腺原氨酸 (T3) 浓度和 T3:T4 比率表现出治疗 × 天数交互作用 (P ≤ 0.02)，因为 POS 的值比 NEG 大 d 84 (P ≤ 0.02)。 POS 中胰岛素样生长因子-1 的浓度高于 MAINT 和 NEG (P ≤ 0.02），非酯化脂肪酸和甲状腺素（T4）受到日效应的影响（P≤0.01），但睾酮不受影响（P≥0.09）。各处理之间观察到精液量、精子浓度、活力或形态的微小差异（P ≥ 0.31）。在各个处理中，由公羊繁殖的母羊产羔和断奶的羔羊比例相似（P ≥ 0.54）。与 POS 和 MAINT 相比，NEG 羔羊的出生体重、胸围和肩臀长更大（P ≤ 0.05）；然而，断奶体重和断奶体型测量结果没有发现差异（P ≥ 0.40）。研究结果表明，精子发育期间的父亲营养可能会影响后代的结局，这可能是父亲起源的子宫内编程的结果。