The ruminant diet is characterized by low lipid concentration, resulting from traditional diets composed by forage species. The use of agro industrial byproducts in animal feed may be interesting, once it reduces production costs and reduces environmental contamination. Among them, macadamia is known for interesting protein and carbohydrate contents; however, it is the amount of lipids that make it different. Fat supplementation can raise concentrations of blood cholesterol, a precursor metabolite of steroid hormones, which constitute biological membranes and possess specific and essential biological activities. The semen characteristics should be taken into account in the selection of the breeding herds, and the semen analysis makes it possible to evaluate the fertility of the sheep and allows obtaining important conclusions based on its results. The objective was to evaluate the seminal quality of Morada Nova sheep breed consuming diets supplemented with macadamia residue and protected fat. The experiment was carried out with 24 rams aged 18 or 30 months, distributed in four treatment groups: control (C), 50 g (MAC50) or 150 g (MAC150) of macadamia industrial byproduct; and 50 g of protected fat (Megalac®), added to the concentrate. Semen was collected at four intervals: before supplementation (day 0), 30, 60 and 75 days after the beginning of supplementation, and it was taken the measurements of volume, appearance, motility, vigour, turbulence, concentration and morphology. At days 60 and 75, semen was frozen for determination of plasma membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and mitochondrial activity after thawing. Analysis of variance was performed and the means were compared by the SNK test. In the analysis of fresh semen, a significant effect (p<0.05) of the treatments on motility was observed. For cryopreserved semen, there was no significate difference (p>0.05). The inclusion of 50 or 150 g of macadamia residue or 50 g of Megalac in the diet does not alter the quantitative and qualitative aspects of fresh and post-thawed semen.

 RESUMOA produção in vitro de embriões suínos tem alcançado resultados insatisfatórios: ovócitos maturados in vivo produzem uma porcentagem maior de embriões em relação aos maturados in vitro. O sucesso da maturação in vitro está diretamente relacionado com a competência ovocitária. Somente ovócitos competentes são capazes de serem fecundados e terem desenvolvimento embrionário normal. A competência ovocitária pode ser avaliada por vários parâmetros. Recentemente têm sido utilizados como parâmetro os estudos da expressão de genes associados com a competência. O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar diferenças na expressão dos genes BMP15, RYBP, MATER e ZAR1 em ovócitos imaturos de diferentes classes morfológicas, sendo elas: 1, 2, 3 e 4, com a finalidade de proporcionar importantes marcadores moleculares relacionados com a capacidade ovocitária. O RNA total dos ovócitos foi extraído e utilizado como molde para a síntese da primeira fita de cDNA. Os resultados da expressão gênica foram analisados utilizando-se modelo misto, considerando os dados de expressão gênica variável dependente e as classes ovocitárias variáveis independentes. Os genes BMP15, ZAR1 e RYBP apresentaram expressão semelhante nas classes ovocitárias 1, 2 e 3; somente a categoria 4 diferiu na expressão desses genes (P<0,05). O gene MATER foi expresso de forma semelhante em todas as classes ovocitárias estudadas (P>0,05). A técnica de RT-qPCR foi eficiente para detecção desses transcritos em ovócitos de diferentes classes. No entanto, para melhor entendimento do envolvimento desses transcritos na aquisição da competência ovocitária, são necessários mais estudos avaliando ovócitos de diferentes classes morfológicas, em diferentes fases de desenvolvimento, e implicação de outros genes envolvidos com a competência ovocitária.Palavras-chave: suíno, competência de desenvolvimento, complexo cumulus-oophorus maturação citoplasmática, maturação nuclear ABSTRACT The in vitro production of pig embryos has achieved unsatisfactory results; in vivo matured

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of tactile stimulation and halter walking trainings in the temperament, physiology, behavior and body weight of sheep. A total of 80 sheep, males and females, of the Morada Nova (MN) and Santa Ines (SI) breeds, with initial ages of six to eight months, were trained with tactile stimulation (TS), halter walking (HW) or tactile stimulation and halter walking (TS+HW). The control (C) animals were not submitted to any kind of training. The behavioral aspects were measured by application of a open-field test, to quantify the traits movement, vocalization, escape attempt and digging, and the temperament test, with assignment of a temperament score for each animal. The animals were weighed and rectal temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate were measured. Males were more reactive than females to human. Animals trained with TS were the least reactive in the temperament test, while the most reactive animals were SI male from C and TS+HW treatments. Males of treatments C and HW were the heaviest during the study. The animals in the control group showed higher averages for heart rate and rectal temperature, while animals trained with TS and HW showed the lowest values. Females MN trained with TS and TS+HW moved more during the open-field test, while the SI females of the control group moved less. The SI animals vocalized more during the open-field test, both from treatment C and from TS+HW. The MN animals from C treatment vocalized less. Sheep trained with tactile stimulation were more docile. The training with tactile stimulation and halter walking in Santa Ines and Morada Nova sheep influenced the heart rate, rectal temperature, moviment, vocalization, escape attempt and body weight.