Preface vii
Pioneer Awards ix
Ruminant reproduction: recent findings and future challenges, a summary 1
E. Keith Inskeep
RUMINANT GENOMES
Chairperson: Robert Webb
Genomic tools for characterizing monogenic and polygenic traits in ruminants – using
the bovine as an example 13
JF Taylor, RH Chapple, JE Decker, SJ Gregg, JW Kim, SD McKay, HR Ramey,
MM Rolf, TM Taxis and RD Schnabel
Creating new knowledge for ruminant reproduction from rapidly expanding and
evolving scientific databases 29
S Bauersachs, H Blum, S Krebs, T Fröhlich, GJ Arnold and E Wolf
DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES IN RUMINANTS
Chairperson: Marc-André Sirard
Developmental programming of the ovine placenta 41
AL Fowden, JW Ward, FBP Wooding and AJ Forhead
Dietary regulation of developmental programming in ruminants: epigenetic
modifications in the germline 59
KD Sinclair, A Karamitri and DS Gardner
RUMINANT TRANSCRIPTOME
Chairperson: Eckhard Wolf
The noncoding genome: implications for ruminant reproductive biology 73
D Tesfaye, MM Hossain and K Schellander
Endogenous retroviruses of sheep: a model system for understanding physiological
adaptation to an evolving ruminant genome 95
TE Spencer, SG Black, F Arnaud and M Palmarini
ASSESSING GENE FUNCTION IN RUMINANTS
Chairperson: Jo Leroy
Putative role of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CARTPT) in dominant
follicle selection in cattle 105
GW Smith, A Sen, JK Folger and JJ Ireland
Assessing gene function in the ruminant placenta 119
RV Anthony, JD Cantlon, KC Gates, SH Purcell and CM Clay
PLURIPOTENCY IN RUMINANT CELLS
Chairperson: Irina Polejaeva
Spermatogonial stem cell biology in the bull: development of isolation, culture, and
transplantation methodologies and their potential impacts on cattle production 133
JM Oatley
Activation of the embryonic genome 145
M-A Sirard
RUMINANT NEUROENDOCRINOLOGY
Chairperson: Terry Nett
The role of kisspeptin and gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH) in the seasonality
of reproduction in sheep 159
IJ Clarke and JT Smith
Mammalian circannual pacemakers 171
GA Lincoln and DG Hazlerigg
THE LAMMING MEMORIAL LECTURE
Chairperson: Keith Inskeep
Introduction of the George Eric Lamming Memorial Lecture 187
Mechanisms and pathobiology of ovulation 189
WJ Murdoch, CJ Murphy, EA Van Kirk and Y Shen
OOCYTE AND FOLLICULAR DEVELOMENT IN RUMINANTS
Chairperson: Jenny Juengel
The earliest stages of follicular development: Follicle formation and activation 203
JE Fortune, MY Yang and W Muruvi
The roles of the ovarian extracellular matrix in fertility 217
RJ Rodgers and HF Irving-Rodgers
Managing the dominant follicle in high-producing dairy cows 231
MC Wiltbank, R Sartori, JLM Vasconcelos, AB Nascimento, AH Souza, AP Cunha,
A Gumen, S Sangsritavong, JN Guenther, H Lopez and JR Pursley
SPERM IN THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT
Chairperson: Zvi Roth
Molecular markers of sperm quality 247
P Sutovsky and K Lovercamp
Regulation of sperm storage and movement in the ruminant oviduct 257
PH Hung and SS Suarez
Interaction of sperm with the zona pellucida during fertilization 267
BM Gadella
THE RUMINANT CORPUS LUTEUM
Chairperson: Joy Pate
Regulation of corpus luteum development and maintenance: specific roles of
angiogenesis and action of prostaglandin F2a 289
A Miyamoto, K Shirasuna, T Shimizu, H Bollwein and D Schams
Inter- and intra-cellular mechanisms of prostaglandin F2a action during corpus luteum
regression in cattle 305
DJ Skarzynski and K Okuda
Endocrine actions of interferon-tau in ruminants 325
TR Hansen, LK Henkes, RL Ashley, RC Bott, AQ Antoniazzi and H Han
CRITICAL ISSUES FACING GLOBAL RUMINANT PRODUCTION
Chairperson: Reinaldo Cooke
The development of reproductive management practices in New Zealand: what will
the future hold in a consumer-focused, environmentally-conscious, export-driven
marketplace? 341
CR Burke and GA Verkerk
Physiological differences and implications to reproductive management of Bos taurus
and Bos indicus cattle in a tropical environment 357
R Sartori, MR Bastos, PS Baruselli, LU Gimenes, RL Ereno and CM Barros
Using basic approaches to address applied problems in dairy reproduction 377
P Lonergan
MANAGING FERTILITY IN DOMESTIC RUMINANTS
Chairperson: George Perry
Applying nutrition and physiology to improve reproduction in dairy cattle 387
JEP Santos, RS Bisinotto, ES Ribeiro, FS Lima, LF Greco, CR Staples and WW Thatcher
Controlling the dominant follicle in beef cattle to improve estrous synchronization
and early embryonic development 405
ML Day, ML Mussard, GA Bridges and CR Burke
Causes and consequences of the variation in the number of ovarian follicles in cattle 421
ACO Evans, F Mossa, T Fair, P Lonergan, ST Butler, AE Zielak-Steciwko, GW Smith,
F Jimenez-Krassel, JK Folger, JLH Ireland and JJ Ireland
UNIQUE ASPECTS OF REPRODUCTION IN DIVERSE RUMINANT SPECIES
Chairperson: Tom Geary
Assisted reproduction in Mediterranean wild ruminants: lessons from the Spanish ibex
(Capra pyrenaica) 431
J Santiago-Moreno, MA Coloma, A Toledano-Díaz, C Castaño, A Gómez-Brunet and
A López-Sebastián
Enhancing reproductive performance in domestic dairy water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) 443
L Zicarelli
Gestation length in farmed reindeer 457
MP Shipka and JE Rowell
Unique strategies to control reproduction in camels 467
JA Skidmore, KM Morton and M Billah
Abstract author index 475
Abstracts 481
Subject index 623