Hormonal changes at oestrus, parturition and post-partum oestrus in the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

1983 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. H. Tyndale-Biscoe ◽  
L. A. Hinds ◽  
C. A. Horn ◽  
G. Jenkin
Keyword(s):  
Post Partum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Oestrous Cycle ◽  
High Peak ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Hormonal Changes ◽  
Progesterone Concentration ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Slow Decline ◽  
Prostaglandin F

Concentrations of progesterone, prolactin, LH and 13,14 dihydro-15-keto-prostaglandin F2α (PGFM) were measured in plasma of eight tammar wallabies at 8-hourly intervals during the end of pregnancy and post-partum oestrus initiated by removing the pouch young, and during the end of the oestrous cycle, similarly initiated. In the non-pregnant cycle oestrus occurred 29·7 ± 0·7 (mean ±s.e.m.) days after initiation of the cycle, was preceded by a slow decline in progesterone concentration from 1·6 nmol/l to less than 0·64nmol/l and was followed by a preovulatory peak of LH 5·3± 3·9 h later. In the pregnant cycle birth occurred 26·1±0·2 days after removing the pouch young and was followed 8·0 ± 2·1 h later by oestrus and 16·0± 2·5 h by an LH peak. The latter events thus occurred 3·2 days earlier in the pregnant than in the non-pregnant cycle. Parturition coincided with a very rapid decline in progesterone and a transient high peak of prolactin. In two females sampled less than 25 min after parturition there was a transient peak of PGFM but in all others the concentrations of PGFM remained basal throughout. It is suggested that the fetus and/or placenta is involved in both the premature decline in progesterone and the initiation of parturition and that onset of oestrus and ovulation, being a consequence of a decline in progesterone, are therefore also determined by the fetus.

Development of the lymphoid tissues of the tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii

1997 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Basden ◽  
D. W. Cooper ◽  
E. M. Deane
Keyword(s):  
Lymph Nodes ◽  
Immunoglobulin G ◽  
Lymphoid Tissue ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Didelphis Virginiana ◽  
Lymphoid Tissues ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Germinal Centres

A study has been made of the development of four lymphoid tissues from birth to maturity in the tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii —the cervical and thoracic thymus, lymph nodes and gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). The development of these tissues in the tammar wallaby is similar to that in two other marsupials, the quokka Setonix brachyurus and the Virginian opossum Didelphis virginiana. Lymphocytes were first detected in the cervical thymus of the tammar at Day 2 post partum and in the thoracic thymus at Day 6. They were subsequently detected in lymph nodes at Day 4 and in the spleen by Day 12 but were not apparent in the GALT until around Day 90 post partum. By Day 21, the cervical thymus had developed distinct areas of cortex and medulla and Hassall’s corpuscles were apparent. The maturation of other tissues followed with Hassall’s corpuscles in the thoracic thymus by Day 30 and nodules and germinal centres in the lymph nodes by Day 90. Measurement of immunoglobulin G concentrations in the serum of young animals indicated a rise in titre around Day 90 post partum, correlating with the apparent maturation of the lymphoid tissues.

Effects of bromocriptine at parturition in the tammar wallaby, Macropus eugenii

1990 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
TP Fletcher ◽  
G Shaw ◽  
MB Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Post Partum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Plasma Prolactin ◽  
Plasma Progesterone ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Sequence Of Events ◽  
Prostaglandin Release ◽  
Peripartum Period ◽  
And Control ◽  
Subsequent Onset

Female tammar wallabies were treated with the dopamine agonist bromocriptine at the end of pregnancy to suppress the peripartum pulse of plasma prolactin. The animals were subsequently observed, and a series of blood samples taken to define the hormonal profiles before and immediately after parturition. Birth was observed in 4/5 control animals and occurred in 8/9 bromocriptine-treated animals. The peripartum peak in plasma PGFM concentrations was not affected by bromocriptine although the pulse of prolactin normally seen at parturition was completely abolished. The timing of luteolysis was apparently unaffected, as plasma progesterone concentrations fell similarly in both treated and control animals immediately after parturition. However, all of the neonates of the bromocriptine-treated animals died within 24 h, possibly because of a failure to establish lactation. Subsequent onset of post-partum oestrus was delayed or absent both in control and in bromocriptine-treated animals, suggesting that the frequent blood sampling and disturbances in the peripartum period interfered with these endocrine processes. It is concluded that both prolactin and prostaglandin can induce luteolysis in the pregnant wallaby, but that the normal sequence of events results from a signal of fetal origin inducing a prostaglandin release from the uterus, which in turn releases a pulse of prolactin that induces a progesterone decline.

Prostaglandin in the peripheral plasma of tammar wallabies during parturition

1986 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Lewis ◽  
T. P. Fletcher ◽  
M. B. Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Direct Measurement ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Expected Time ◽  
Peripheral Plasma ◽  
Prostaglandin Metabolite ◽  
Prostaglandin F ◽  
Peripartum Period ◽  
Frequent Sampling ◽  
Breeding Seasons

ABSTRACT Tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) were observed for 7 days, 24 h/day, at the expected time of birth in two consecutive breeding seasons. Blood was collected from the lateral tail vein 1–2 days before birth, then at 10- to 20-min intervals in the peripartum period and less frequently to 30-h post partum. Plasma was assayed for the prostaglandin metabolite 13, 14-dihydro-15-oxo-prostaglandin F2α (PGFM), progesterone and LH. An assay for PGFM was validated which allows direct measurement in 100 μl unextracted plasma with a sensitivity of 0·14 nmol/l (50 pg/ml). There was a short-lived peak of PGFM immediately before or at birth (7·15 ± 2·52 nmol/l; 2536± 892 pg/ml) which declined to less than 0·28 nmol/l (100 pg/ml) within 2-h post partum. Progesterone concentrations declined about the time of birth, coincident with the peak of PGFM, and reached levels observed in lactationally quiescent animals by 16-h post partum, which was also the time of the LH peak. The transient prostaglandin pulse was detected only by frequent sampling and suggests that, as in other mammals, prostaglandin is important in parturition. J. Endocr. (1986) 111, 103–109

scholarly journals Changes in the Milk Proteins during Lactation in the Tammar Wallaby, Macropus eugenii

1982 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart W Green ◽  
Marilyn B Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Whey Proteins ◽  
Milk Proteins ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Total Protein Concentration ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Stage Of Lactation ◽  
Whole Milk

Samples of whey proteins from the milk of tammar wallabies, Macropus eugenii, were examined by acrylamide gel electrophoresis at all stages of lactation up to 280 days post partum. Whey albumin, ,B-globulin and y-globulin fractions had similar electrophoretic mobility to that of the equivalent serum protein fractions, but the proteins in the IX-globulin and pre-albumin regions differed markedly. The IX-globulins are presumed polymorphic because individuals at the same stage of lactation showed great variability in these electrophoretic regions: up to five polymorphic bands were recognized. Milk proteins changed qualitatively throughout lactation, and in particular the concentration of the pre-albumin and IX-globulin fractions increased from approximately day 180 to the end of lactation. Total protein concentration of both whole milk and whey approximately doubled in the second half of lactation compared to the first half, reaching maximum mean values of 114 � 47 and 96 � 50 g 1- 1 , respectively. Whole milk contained consistently more protein than whey, presumably due to the casein it contains.

Sperm transport, size of the seminal plug and the timing of ovulation after natural mating in the female tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 811 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damien B. B. P. Paris ◽  
David A. Taggart ◽  
Monica C. J. Paris ◽  
Peter D. Temple-Smith ◽  
Marilyn B. Renfree
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Sperm Transport ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Single Mating ◽  
Natural Mating

The distribution of spermatozoa and seminal plug in the reproductive tract and the timing of ovulation were examined at various times in a naturally mated monovular macropodid marsupial, namely the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). After the first post partum (p.p.) mating, 28 females were isolated and their reproductive tracts dissected at 0.5, 6, 18, 36 and 40 h post coitum (p.c.). Each tract was ligated into 13 major anatomical sections and spermatozoa and eggs were recovered by flushing. Mating was possibly delayed by handling and occurred 21.7 ± 2.5 h p.p. in these animals. Copulation lasted 7.8 ± 0.7 min. Within 0.5 h after a single mating, the tract contained 25.8 ± 10.2 × 106 spermatozoa and 21.6 ± 8.8 g of seminal plug, 96% and 70% of which was lost within 6 h p.c. respectively. Spermatozoa reached the uterus, isthmus and ampulla of the oviduct on the side of the developing follicle within 0.5, 6 and 18 h p.c., respectively, and a uterine population of 26.1 ± 12.103 spermatozoa was maintained for over 40 h. Sperm numbers were reduced at the cervix (up to 57-fold) and uterotubule junction (eight-fold) and only one in approximately 7500 ejaculated spermatozoa (3.4 ± 0.9 × 103) reached the oviduct on the follicle side. Differential transport of spermatozoa was not observed. Although the numbers of spermatozoa were reduced in the parturient uterus, they were highly variable and were not significantly different to those in the non-parturient uterus. Ovulation and recovery of sperm-covered eggs from the isthmus occurred 36–41 h p.c. (49–72 h p.p.). In contrast with the polyovular dasyurid and didelphid marsupials, the tammar wallaby ejaculates large numbers of spermatozoa, but transport is relatively inefficient and sperm storage in the tract before ovulation is limited.

scholarly journals Changes in a-Lactalbumin, Total Lactose, UDP-Galactose Hydrolase and other Factors in Tammar Wallaby (Macropus eugenii) Milk during Lactation

1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
MichaeI Messer ◽  
Christine Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Post Partum ◽  
Rabbit Antiserum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Milk Samples ◽  
In Vitro Hydrolysis ◽  
Nucleotide Pyrophosphatase ◽  
Hydrolysis Of

a-Lactalbumin was isolated from milk of M. eugenii and its concentration in milk samples taken at various times during lactation (0-40 we.eks post partum) was determined by single radial immunodiffusion using rabbit antiserum to the purified protein. The a-lactalbumin concentration remained almost constant throughout lactation even though the concentration of total lactose (free �lactose plus lactose contained in oligosaccharides) feli to zero after 34 weeks post partum. This fall in lactose was accompanied by a rise in the free galactose and glucose concentrations and marked increases in UDPgalactose hydrolase, nucleotide pyrophosphatase, alkaline phosphatase and acid fj-galactosidase activities. It is suggested that the in vitro hydrolysis of UDP-galactose was due to nucleotide pyrophosphatase and that this enzyme may also playa role in vivo late in lactation by making UDP-galactose unavailable for the synthesis of lactose. Alternatively, lactose and lactose-containing oligosaccharides might be degraded by the acid fj-galactosidase during or after secretion.

PERIPHERAL PLASMA PROGESTERONE DURING PREGNANCY AND THE OESTROUS CYCLE IN THE TAMMAR WALLABY, MACROPUS EUGENII

1972 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
MEREDITH LEMON
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Oestrous Cycle ◽  
Plasma Progesterone ◽  
Common Assumption ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Peripheral Plasma ◽  
Competitive Protein Binding ◽  
The Common ◽  
Circulating Levels

SUMMARY Progesterone or progestin concentrations were measured in the peripheral plasma of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii) during pregnancy and the oestrous cycle, using a competitive protein-binding method. In common with most other members of the marsupial family Macropodidae, the tammar has a gestation period slightly shorter than one oestrous cycle, and the occurrence of pregnancy does not affect the time of onset of the following oestrus. This study was an attempt to obtain direct evidence for the common assumption that most macropodid marsupials secrete the same amounts of ovarian hormones during pregnancy as they do during the oestrous cycle. The effect on progesterone levels of ovariectomy and removal of the corpus luteum was also studied to discover whether an extra-ovarian source of progesterone exists during pregnancy. Circulating levels of both total plasma progestins and progesterone are very low compared with other mammalian species—less than 1 ng/ml at all stages of the reproductive cycle. An increase in plasma progesterone concentration, apparently of ovarian origin, occurs before birth and/or oestrus, and this may possibly be associated with parturition. The plasma progestin concentration during pregnancy, and that of progesterone during the last 10 days of pregnancy, were significantly greater than during the oestrous cycle.

scholarly journals Changes in Milk Carbohydrates and Electrolytes during Early Lactation in the Tammar Wallaby, Macropus eugenii

1984 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Messer ◽  
M Griffiths ◽  
B Green
Keyword(s):  
Post Partum ◽  
Tammar Wallaby ◽  
Early Lactation ◽  
Macropus Eugenii ◽  
Milk Samples

Milk samples were collected from 13 tammar wallabies immediately post partum and from a further 10 animals at various times up to 3 weeks after birth.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document