Premating stress alters the vaginal microbiota of gilts

• Grant number: 17/03818-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2017
• End date: December 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Adroaldo Jose Zanella
• Grantee: Luana Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The period preceding copulation is of intense stress for female pigs in commercial production systems due to changes in management, diet, facilities and other challenges. Most animals are kept in cells, which challenge their well-being. Thus, a modification of the Hippocampus-Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HHPA) axis, with cortisol release, may alter the whole physiology of the animal and modify responses to pain, infection, lesions and stress stimuli. Although the effect of glucocorticoids is poorly elucidated in the pre-copula environment, its impacts on pregnancy are well known, involving cognitive and emotional disorders in the offspring. The maintenance of a healthy gut microbiota, being the first repository of newborn bacteria, is important. Its role in the HHPA-digestive system interaction is recognized in processes related to stress, obesity, psychiatric problems, among others. It is important to emphasize that these microorganisms are influenced by environmental, physiological, genotypic and social factors. The hypothesis is that the vaginal microbiota is altered by the stress that the female undergoes during the pre-estrus period and that this alteration compromises the health and well-being of the female at offer risks for the health and well-being of the piglets. To this end, the study proposed in this project is to asses pre-copula housing in gestation cells, collective stalls and outdoor paddocks, three distinct situations that offer different degrees of challenges to animal welfare, along with the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) injection, simulating an inflammatory condition. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ALVES, LUANA; DE NOVAIS, FRANCISCO JOSE; DA SILVA, ARTHUR NERY; ARAUJO, MICHELLE SILVA; BERNARDINO, THIAGO; OSOWSKI, GERMANA VIZZOTTO; ZANELLA, RICARDO; SETTLES, MATTHEW LEE; HOLMES, MARK A.; FUKUMASU, HEIDGE; et al. Vaginal Microbiota Diversity in Response to Lipopolysaccharide in Gilts Housed Under Three Housing Systems. FRONTIERS IN GENETICS, v. 13, p. 8-pg., 2022-04-08. (17/03818-5, 18/01082-4)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ALVES, Luana. Premating stress alters the vaginal microbiota of gilts. 2019. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD) Pirassununga.