Background:Linoleic acid (LA) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid present in high concentrations in follicular fluid, when added to maturation culture media, it affects oocyte competence.Objective:In the present study, we investigated effect of linoleic acid supplementation on in vitro maturation, embryo development and apoptotic related gene expression in ovineMaterials and Methods:The experiments conducted on 450 ovine Cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) with homogenous ooplasm and more than two compact layers of cumulus cells. For in vitro maturation COCs were randomly allocated into four treatment groups for 24 hr period. Treatment groups were as follow: control maturation media, 0 µM LA, 50 µM LA, 100 µM LA and 200 µM LA. The cumulus cell expansion and blastocysts rates were recorded. Total RNA was isolated from embryo pools, reverse transcribed into cDNA, and subjected to apoptotic gene expression by real-time PCR.Results: Highest concentration (200 µM/mL) of LA significantly decreased the rate of fully expanded cumulus cells 24 hr after in vitro maturation (IVM) and the percentage of blastocyste rate compared with the control (p<0.05). These inhibitory effects were associated with an increased in relative mRNA expression of Bax (Bcl-2- associated X) gene compared with controls. Conclusion:Data obtained in present study suggest that low concentration of LA used for maturation had no deleterious effect on subsequent embryonic development compared to high concentration of LA. Relative expression of Bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma 2) and Bax in embryos seems to be associated with LA concentration.

The present study was designed to assess the importance of ovine neosporosis in abortion of Iraninan sheep. Seventy aborted foetuses and dams from ovine dairy farms in northwest of Iran were analyzed to investigate the role of Neospora caninum (N. caninum) in ovine abortion. Diagnosis of the infection was determined by serology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 70 aborted dairy ovine were blood sampled and used to evaluate serological status for N. caninum infection by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and extracted DNA from the same aborted foetuses were subjected to PCR. Data were compared using Kruscal-Wallis test. From A total of the 70 sheeps, four (5.7 %) of the dams were seropositive. DNA from aborted foetuses was extracted primarily from placenta and CNS tissues. Extracted DNA from foetuses were analyzed using PCR with primers Np21 ? and Np6 ? . Out of the 70 ovine fetuses 8.5 % were considered to be infected by PCR. This study confirms the importance of N. caninum as an important cause of ovine abortion in northwest of Iran.

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Endometritis is one of the reproductive diseases that can cause disturbances of postpartum uterine health in cattle. Therefore, identification of resistant genotypes to endometritis is essential. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphism in the interleukin-8 receptor-α (CXCR1) gene and the possibility of endometritis in Holstein dairy cows. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from multiparous dairy cows with a history of clinical endometritis (n = 30), and normal, healthy cows as the control group (n = 10). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was isolated from a blood sample. To determine genotype, the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique (PCR-RFLP) was used. The results indicated the presence of a different proportion of polymorphisms (G > C) in the CXCR1 gene in cows with clinical endometritis, compared to the control group. Statistical analyses showed that there is a significant correlation between the incidence of the disease and the CXCR1 genotype in nucleotide position 956. The incidence rate of clinical endometritis was associated with the CXCR1.956 genotype; cows with genotype GC had a higher incidence of clinical endometritis compared with cows with the GG genotype. Overall, the results showed that CXCR1 polymorphism could be a useful marker for identification of resistant genotypes to endometritis in Holstein dairy cows.