Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results

Recently, anogenital distance (AGD) has been studied in cattle, and cows with shorter AGD have a better reproductive performance. There needs to be more information about AGD and its influence on reproductive performance in the case of water buffaloes. Therefore, the objectives of this preliminary...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Héctor Nava-Trujillo, Simón Zambrano-Salas, Justin Dijak, Adriana Morgado-Osorio, Quintino D’Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad del Zulia 2023-11-01
Series:Revista Científica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://produccioncientificaluz.org/index.php/cientifica/article/view/43431
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832574357149319168
author Héctor Nava-Trujillo
Simón Zambrano-Salas
Justin Dijak
Adriana Morgado-Osorio
Quintino D’Andrea
author_facet Héctor Nava-Trujillo
Simón Zambrano-Salas
Justin Dijak
Adriana Morgado-Osorio
Quintino D’Andrea
author_sort Héctor Nava-Trujillo
collection DOAJ
description Recently, anogenital distance (AGD) has been studied in cattle, and cows with shorter AGD have a better reproductive performance. There needs to be more information about AGD and its influence on reproductive performance in the case of water buffaloes. Therefore, the objectives of this preliminary study were to characterize the anogenital distance in water buffalo females and evaluate if this trait is related to reproductive performance. Data for this study was registered in a commercial farm in El Vigia, Merida, Venezuela, with crosses of Mediterranean x Murrah water buffalo breeds (Bubalus bubalis). The collected data from 171 females (26 nulliparous and 145 with at least one calving) included anogenital distance (millimeters), age (days), weight (kilograms), height at the withers (millimeters), and hip height (millimeters). The calving-to-conception interval (days) was registered from 88 females. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) were carried out between AGD, age, weight, wither height, and hip height. Water buffalo cows with at least one previous calving were categorized as short or long AGD based on the median AGD. The calving-to- conception interval was modeled against the AGD category using a variance analysis adjusted by parity and season of calving. All analyses were carried out with R studio version R4.2.2. The anogenital distance averaged 152±20.60 mm, and it was correlated positively with age (0.5516; p<0.05), weight (0.4574; p<0.05), height at the withers (0.4056, p<0.05), and hip height (0.3703; p<0.05). Water buffalo cows with at least one previous calving were categorized as short-AGD or long-AGD (short <157.0 mm> long), and as expected, the mean of AGD differed between groups (145.61 vs. 180.50 mm, respectively, p<0.05). It was observed that the calving-to- conception interval was shorter in water buffalo cows with short AGD (70.82 vs. 96.60 days, p<0.05). In conclusion, anogenital distance in water buffalo females positively correlates with age, weight, wither height, and hip height. Additionally, a long anogenital distance was associated with lower reproductive performance (longer calving-to-conception interval). This fact could be attributed to the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to androgens on reproductive organs and endocrine pathways; however, more research is needed to understand this better. This could be the first study establishing the relationship between anogenital distance and reproductive performance in Bubalus bubalis. However, considering the reduced number of animals and observations, testing, and validating these findings with a bigger population is necessary. In the same direction, there is a need to carry out more research to clarify the mechanism involved in improving reproductive performance and the heritability of AGD.
format Article
id doaj-art-228b7bd003b3400fb6e4b191f628c41e
institution Kabale University
issn 0798-2259
2521-9715
language English
publishDate 2023-11-01
publisher Universidad del Zulia
record_format Article
series Revista Científica
spelling doaj-art-228b7bd003b3400fb6e4b191f628c41e2025-02-01T15:36:58ZengUniversidad del ZuliaRevista Científica0798-22592521-97152023-11-0133Suplemento10.52973/rcfcv-wbc094Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary resultsHéctor Nava-Trujillo0Simón Zambrano-Salas1Justin Dijak 2Adriana Morgado-Osorio3Quintino D’Andrea4Division of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.Ejercicio libre, El Vigía, Mérida, VenezuelaInstitute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USAProducción Animal, Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Mérida, Venezuela.Ganadera Colon 2, El Vigía, Mérida, Venezuela Recently, anogenital distance (AGD) has been studied in cattle, and cows with shorter AGD have a better reproductive performance. There needs to be more information about AGD and its influence on reproductive performance in the case of water buffaloes. Therefore, the objectives of this preliminary study were to characterize the anogenital distance in water buffalo females and evaluate if this trait is related to reproductive performance. Data for this study was registered in a commercial farm in El Vigia, Merida, Venezuela, with crosses of Mediterranean x Murrah water buffalo breeds (Bubalus bubalis). The collected data from 171 females (26 nulliparous and 145 with at least one calving) included anogenital distance (millimeters), age (days), weight (kilograms), height at the withers (millimeters), and hip height (millimeters). The calving-to-conception interval (days) was registered from 88 females. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) were carried out between AGD, age, weight, wither height, and hip height. Water buffalo cows with at least one previous calving were categorized as short or long AGD based on the median AGD. The calving-to- conception interval was modeled against the AGD category using a variance analysis adjusted by parity and season of calving. All analyses were carried out with R studio version R4.2.2. The anogenital distance averaged 152±20.60 mm, and it was correlated positively with age (0.5516; p<0.05), weight (0.4574; p<0.05), height at the withers (0.4056, p<0.05), and hip height (0.3703; p<0.05). Water buffalo cows with at least one previous calving were categorized as short-AGD or long-AGD (short <157.0 mm> long), and as expected, the mean of AGD differed between groups (145.61 vs. 180.50 mm, respectively, p<0.05). It was observed that the calving-to- conception interval was shorter in water buffalo cows with short AGD (70.82 vs. 96.60 days, p<0.05). In conclusion, anogenital distance in water buffalo females positively correlates with age, weight, wither height, and hip height. Additionally, a long anogenital distance was associated with lower reproductive performance (longer calving-to-conception interval). This fact could be attributed to the adverse effects of prenatal exposure to androgens on reproductive organs and endocrine pathways; however, more research is needed to understand this better. This could be the first study establishing the relationship between anogenital distance and reproductive performance in Bubalus bubalis. However, considering the reduced number of animals and observations, testing, and validating these findings with a bigger population is necessary. In the same direction, there is a need to carry out more research to clarify the mechanism involved in improving reproductive performance and the heritability of AGD. https://produccioncientificaluz.org/index.php/cientifica/article/view/43431water buffalo cowsanogenital distancereproductive performancecalving-to-conception interval
spellingShingle Héctor Nava-Trujillo
Simón Zambrano-Salas
Justin Dijak
Adriana Morgado-Osorio
Quintino D’Andrea
Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
Revista Científica
water buffalo cows
anogenital distance
reproductive performance
calving-to-conception interval
title Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
title_full Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
title_fullStr Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
title_full_unstemmed Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
title_short Anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance. Preliminary results
title_sort anogenital distance in water buffalo females and relationship with reproductive performance preliminary results
topic water buffalo cows
anogenital distance
reproductive performance
calving-to-conception interval
url https://produccioncientificaluz.org/index.php/cientifica/article/view/43431
work_keys_str_mv AT hectornavatrujillo anogenitaldistanceinwaterbuffalofemalesandrelationshipwithreproductiveperformancepreliminaryresults
AT simonzambranosalas anogenitaldistanceinwaterbuffalofemalesandrelationshipwithreproductiveperformancepreliminaryresults
AT justindijak anogenitaldistanceinwaterbuffalofemalesandrelationshipwithreproductiveperformancepreliminaryresults
AT adrianamorgadoosorio anogenitaldistanceinwaterbuffalofemalesandrelationshipwithreproductiveperformancepreliminaryresults
AT quintinodandrea anogenitaldistanceinwaterbuffalofemalesandrelationshipwithreproductiveperformancepreliminaryresults