Impact of prenatal stress on thermoregulatory and physiological responses in doe rabbits and reflected it on their offspring
Abstract: It is well understood that, exposure of rabbits to heat stress evokes a series of remarkable changes in their biological functions, which ends with impairment of production and reproduction. The objective of the present work is to quantify the effects of acclimatization to the high environmental temperature by modulating their physiological responses for thermoregulation in female rabbits and reflected it on their offspring. Forty five New Zealand White rabbit does were assigned to three groups, according to different times of heat exposure. The first group was exposed to natural ambient temperature (25±3°C) and was considered as control (C), the second (T1) and the third groups (T2) were exposed to a high ambient temperature (36±3°C) for one hour for 3 consecutive days at the 14th and the 27th day of pregnancy, respectively.
The rabbit does of T2 have high. rectal temperature and respiratory rate compared with control and T1 groups at late pregnancy while, rectal temperature was decreased in rabbit does during lactation period and their offspring in T2 compared with control and T1 groups. Heat stress exposure at late stage of pregnancy caused a significant decrease on gestation period and an increase in litter weight and litter size at 21 and 28 days of age as well as viability % from birth to 28 days compared to the other treatments Higher in prolactin and lower triiodothyronine secretions were observed in the T2 compared to the other groups at late pregnancy and 14 days of lactation period AST and ALT values were significantly lower in T2 compared with the control and T1 groups during lactation period Furthermore, doe exposed to heat acclimation at late pregnancy were the least affected in most of the traits studied which reflected positively on decreasing of body temperature.
Conclusively, it can be concluded that heat acclimation for does rabbit at -late pregnancy lead to improve the acquisition of thermo tolerance for offspring but, this the improving was less for offspring resulting from does rabbit acclimatized at the beginning of pregnancy and that may be due to increase prolactin in does rabbits at late pregnancy that role play important in modulate some thermoregulatory processes during heat exposure and that reflected on their offspring.
Key wards: Rabbits, thermoregulation, heat exposure, offspring, . thyroid hormone.
Publication year 2014
Pages 47-66
Availability location معهد بحوث الانتاج الحيواني- شارع نادى الصيد- الدقى- الجيزة
Availability number
Organization Name
Country Egypt
serial title Egyptian Journal of Rabbit Science
ISSN 1110-2594
Volume 24 . 1
Author(s) from ARC
External authors (outside ARC)
    فيصل بيومي عبدالسلام كلية الزراعة- جامعة عين شمس
Agris Categories Animal physiology - Reproduction
AGROVOC
TERMS		 Heat. Heat stress. Rabbits. Thermoregulation. Thyroid hormones.
Proposed Agrovoc heat exposure;offspring;
Publication Type Journal
↑