Correlation with changes in horns and pelage, but not reproduction, of seasonal cycles in the secretion of prolactin in rams of wild, feral and domesticated breeds of sheep

Journal of Reproduction and Fertility
G A Lincoln

Abstract

Seasonal cycles were monitored in groups of wild (mouflon), feral (Soay) and domesticated breeds of sheep (Shetland, Blackface, Herdwick, Norfolk, Wiltshire, Portland, Merino, Soay x Portland and Soay x Merino) living outdoors near Edinburgh (56 degrees N). Changes in the blood plasma concentrations of prolactin and FSH, and growth of the horns and pelage were measured every half calendar month from 1 to 3 years of age. In all breeds there was a clearly defined seasonal cycle in the plasma concentration of prolactin with an 18-66-fold increase in mean values from the nadir in November and December to the peak in May and June. The seasonal increase in prolactin was closely correlated with the seasonal increase in the growth of the horns, both within and between breeds (e.g. time of peak prolactin vs horn growth for 11 breeds, R = 0.62, P less than 0.05). In the mouflon, Soay and some of the domesticated breeds of sheep (Wiltshire, Herdwick and Shetland), the seasonal increase in prolactin was also temporally correlated with the resurgence of growth of the pelage in spring and a conspicuous moult. In the other breeds developed to produce fine wool (e.g. Norfolk, Portland and Merino), there was no clear seasonal change in the pela...Continue Reading

Citations

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