Pineal-dependent increase of hypothalamic neurogenesis contributes to the timing of seasonal reproduction in sheep.

ABSTRACT: To survive in temperate latitudes, species rely on the photoperiod to synchronize their physiological functions, including reproduction, with the predictable changes in the environment. In sheep, exposure to decreasing day length reactivates the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis, while during increasing day length, animals enter a period of sexual rest. Neural stem cells have been detected in the sheep hypothalamus and hypothalamic neurogenesis was found to respond to the photoperiod. However, the physiological relevance of this seasonal adult neurogenesis is still unexplored. This longitudinal study, therefore aimed to thoroughly characterize photoperiod-stimulated neurogenesis and to investigate whether the hypothalamic adult born-cells were involved in the seasonal timing of reproducti

SUBMITTER: Batailler M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5906660 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature