Conception rate, uterine infection and embryo quality after artificial insemination and natural breeding with a stallion carrier of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a case report.
Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa may cause venereal disease and infertility in horses. A Pseudomonas aeruginosa - carrier stallion, often unresponsive to artificial vagina collection, was used to naturally breed mares. Semen collected from the same stallion was also used to perform artificial inseminations. Pregnancy rates, embryo quality and incidence of uterine infection were compared between inseminated or naturally-bred mares. Methods: P. aeruginosa was isolated from swabbing of the penis, prepuce and distal urethra of the stallion. Before being bred or inseminated, clitoral/vestibular samples were collected from all mares, and cultured for isolation of P. aeruginosa. At the first observed estrus, endometrial swabs were also collected. All mares subjected to natural mating (NS) were re-evaluated for P.aeruginosa by culture of clitoral and endometrial swabs. Artificial inseminations (AI) were performed either with fresh-extended semen (11 AI/7 mares) or frozen semen (10 AI/7 mares). The stallion was also used to breed 3 mares (4 services). For embryo collection, 2 mares were inseminated with fresh-extended semen (1 AI/mare), and 2 additional mares were inseminated with frozen semen (2 AI/mare). Two mares were naturally-bred with a total of 9 services, for embryo collection. All mares were examined after AI or natural service (NS), for uterine pathologies. Embryo recoveries were attempted passing a catheter with inflatable cuff connected to a sterile flexible 2-way flushing catheter, through the cervix. Flushed media was recovered into an Em-Con filter, and embryos searched using a stereoscope. Embryos were graded from 1 (excellent) to 4 (degenerated/dead). Results: Pregnancy rates obtained after NS was 50% per cycle. However, more than half of the NS resulted in uterine disease, while uterine pathology was seen only in 22% of the time following AI. Half of the mares bred by NS got positive to P. aeruginosa. Percentage of embryo recovery rates was identical after AI or NS (66.7%). The 4 embryos recovered after AI were classified as Grade 1, while after NS only 2 out of the 6 recovered embryos were Grade 1. Conclusions: a) there was no evidence of reduced fertilization after AI or NS, b) a numerically higher incidence of uterine disease was noticed after NS, c) venereal transmission of P. aeruginosa after NS was confirmed, d) a lower percentage of G1 embryos may be obtained after NS. Overall, the data supports the indication for P. aeruginosa-carrier stallions to be bred by AI rather than by NS, and raises the possibility that P. aeruginosa may affect embryo quality.
Publication Date: 2012-03-29 PubMed ID: 22458304PubMed Central: PMC3349612DOI: 10.1186/1751-0147-54-20Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Case Reports
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Summary
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The research article investigates the impact of a stallion infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa on pregnancy rates, embryo quality, and the incidence of uterine infections in mares after either natural breeding or artificial insemination.
Introduction and Methods
- The research focused on a stallion infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterial species that can cause venereal disease and infertility in horses. The bacterium was isolated from swabs taken from the stallion’s penis, prepuce, and distal urethra.
- The stallion was used to naturally breed mares as well as provide semen for artificial inseminations. Samples were taken from the mares to check for the presence of the bacterium before they were bred or inseminated.
- The researchers examined the pregnancy rates, incidence of uterine infections, and the quality of the embryos in the mares following either type of breeding.
Observations
- The research showed that the pregnancy rate per cycle following natural service (NS) was 50%. However, over half of the mares that followed this method resulted in uterine disease, compared to a 22% incidence following artificial insemination (AI).
- Half of the mares bred by NS were found to be positive for P. aeruginosa infection, suggesting the bacterium can be transmitted sexually.
- Embryo recovery rates were found to be the same for both methods (66.7%). However, there was a significant difference in their quality; all embryos recovered after AI were classified as Grade 1, which is the highest quality, while this grade was achieved by only a third of embryos recovered after NS.
Conclusions
- The research concluded that there was no evidence of reduced fertilization after either AI or NS. However, a higher incidence of uterine disease was observed following NS.
- The transmission of P. aeruginosa through NS was confirmed. Moreover, the results suggest that the quality of embryos may be affected by this bacterium.
- Overall, the findings indicate that stallions carrying P. aeruginosa should be bred using AI rather than NS.
Cite This Article
APA
Tiago G, Júlio C, António R.
(2012).
Conception rate, uterine infection and embryo quality after artificial insemination and natural breeding with a stallion carrier of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: a case report.
Acta Vet Scand, 54(1), 20.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-54-20 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- ICBAS - Abel Salazar Biomedical Institute, ICBAS, University of Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas 7, Vairão 4485-661, Portugal.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Carrier State / microbiology
- Carrier State / veterinary
- Embryo, Mammalian / embryology
- Female
- Fertilization
- Horses / physiology
- Incidence
- Insemination, Artificial / veterinary
- Male
- Pregnancy
- Pseudomonas Infections / microbiology
- Pseudomonas Infections / veterinary
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa / isolation & purification
- Semen / physiology
- Semen Preservation / veterinary
- Uterine Diseases / microbiology
- Uterine Diseases / veterinary
References
This article includes 11 references
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