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International audience; In clinics, temperature is used as an indicator of health. Mostly rectal temperature is recorded, requiring handling and time. Temperature-sensitive identification microchips could be an alternative. Foals (26 males and 17 females), 4-12 months old, were housed in stalls over two winters (December-February). They were equipped with an identification and temperature sensor microchip implanted in the neckline. Temperature was recorded using an antenna located near the drinking trough. Animals were fed concentrated feed and forage twice daily, with free access to water. Rectal temperatures (79 measurements) were recorded simultaneously in 26 animals. Data were analyzed with a linear mixed model, using natural cubic splines for the mean curve and a random horse effect. All animals remained healthy throughout the study. More than 100,000 recordings were obtained. Mean temperature for all individuals at all times was 37.5 +/- 0.1 degrees C. Time of the day affected temperature with a daily amplitude of 0.96 degrees C (P < .001). Lowest temperatures were observed before dawn, the acrophase occurring around 18:00, with a smaller increase around midday. Mean temperature was 0.26 degrees C higher in males (P < .05). It was also 0.1 degrees C higher in light (

In mammals, male embryos grow faster. Equine embryo size is highly variable for same developmental stage, with no reported relation to embryo sex nor gene expression. Our objective was to evaluate gene expression sexual dimorphism on equine D8 blastocysts. Non-nursing, Saddlebred mares located on 2 experimental farms were inseminated with the semen of one unique stallion per farm. At 8 d post ovulation, 17 and 11 embryos from each farm, each from a different dam, were recovered by uterine flushing and bissected to obtain samples of pure (TE) or inner cell mass enriched (TE-ICM) trophoblast. RNA expression was analyzed separately in the TE-ICM and the TE of 16 female and 12 male embryos using paired end, non-oriented RNA sequencing (Illumina, NextSeq500). To discriminate gene expression in the ICM from that in the TE, deconvolution (DeMixT R package) was used on the TE-ICM data. Differential expression was analyzed (DESeq2) with farm and embryo size as cofactors using a false discovery rate (FDR)

WOS:000393538500020; International audience; Embryo transfer between breeds of different sizes impacts fetal growth in horses. We have shown that it elicits various postnatal adaptations in terms of growth and glucose metabolism until weaning. Postweaning effects remain to be described. Pony (P), saddlebred (S), and draft (D) horses were used. Control Pony-in-Pony (P-P; n = 21) and Saddlebred-in-Saddlebred (S-S; n = 28) pregnancies were obtained by artificial insemination. Enhanced and restricted pregnancies were obtained by transferring P or S embryos into D mares (Pony-in-Draft [P-D], n = 6 and Saddlebred-in-Draft [S-D], n = 8) and S embryos into P mares (Saddlebred-in-Pony n = 6), respectively. Control and experimental foals were raised by their dams and recipient mothers, respectively and weaned on day 180. Weight gain, growth hormones, and glucose metabolism were investigated in foals between days 180 and 540. Pony-in-Draft (P-D) remained heavier than P-P on days 180, 360, and 540, with lower glucose and higher non-esterified fatty-acids on days 180, 360, and 540 and higher T-3 on day 180. Insulin sensitivity was similar between pony groups on days 200 and 540. S-P were lighter than S-D on day 180 but caught up by day 540. S-P had higher glucose than S-D on days 180, 360, and 540, as well as lower non-esterified fatty acids and higher T3 on day 180. Insulin sensitivity was higher in S-P than in S-D on day 200. No difference was observed between saddlebred groups thereafter. In conclusion, in horses, fetal growth is determinant for postnatal metabolism, especially for energy availability. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.