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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 22(7)

Anti-Müllerian hormone: a predictive marker of embryo production in cattle?

Danielle Monniaux A D , Sarah Barbey B , Charlène Rico A , Stéphane Fabre A , Yves Gallard B and Hélène Larroque C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, UMR 6175 INRA-CNRS-Université de Tours-Haras Nationaux, Centre INRA de Tours, 37380 Nouzilly, France.

B UE 326 Unité Expérimentale du Pin, INRA Le Pin, 61310 Exmes, France.

C INRA UMR 1313 Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas Cedex, France.

D Corresponding author. Email: dmonniaux@tours.inra.fr

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 22(7) 1083-1091 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD09279
Submitted: 16 November 2009  Accepted: 17 February 2010   Published: 20 August 2010

Abstract

In cattle, the embryo production rate after superovulation varies between individuals and is difficult to predict. Recently, we proposed that anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) plasma levels measured before treatment can help predict superovulatory responses. To establish whether blood measurement of AMH can help predict the number of embryos produced by a given cow after superovulation, data collected over 4 years from 45 dairy cows submitted to repeated embryo production were analysed in a retrospective study. A high within-animal repeatability (0.38 and 0.36) and a strong effect of the father of the donor cow (P < 0.01) were observed for the numbers of collected and transferable embryos, respectively. AMH concentration, measured in the plasma of donor cows during first lactation and several months before the start of the embryo production campaigns, was found to be highly correlated with the maximal number of collected (P < 0.0001) and transferable (P < 0.01) embryos per cow. In conclusion, the capacity of embryo production is a repeatable and probably heritable trait in the cow, and blood measurement of AMH in potential donor cows could be of value in determining a cow’s intrinsic capacity to produce transferable embryos.

Additional keywords: assisted reproductive technology, bovine species, FSH, ovulation.


Acknowledgements

The authors thank the staff of the dairy Experimental Unit UE 326 for animal management and participation in the experimental design, Christèle Robert-Granié for her help with the statistical analyses and John Williams for linguistic revision of the manuscript. This work was supported by special funding ‘Crédits Incitatifs’ of the INRA PHASE Department.


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