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Biology of Reproduction 60, 756-762 (1999)
©Copyright 1999 Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc.

Prolonged Mating in Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster) Increases Likelihood of Ovulation and Embryo Number1

R. Lucille Roberts2,a,b, Karen N. Wolfa,b, M. Elizabeth Sprangela,b, William F. Rallc, and David E. Wildta,b

a Reproductive Physiology Program, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution,Washington, District of Columbia 20008 b Conservation & Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia 22630 c Veterinary Resources Program, Office of Research Services, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892

Prairie voles are induced ovulators that mate frequently in brief bouts over a period of ~24 h. We examined 1) impact of mating duration on ovulation and embryo number, 2) incidence of fertilization, 3) temporal pattern of embryo development, 4) embryo progression through the reproductive tract over time, and 5) embryo development in culture. Mating was videotaped to determine first copulation, and the ovaries were examined and the reproductive tracts flushed at 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, and 24 h and 2, 3, and 4 days after first copulation. The number of mature follicles and fresh corpora lutea and the number and developmental stage of embryos were quantified. One, two-, and four-cell embryos were cultured in Whitten's medium. Mature follicles were present at the earliest time examined (6 h). Thirty-eight percent of females that had been paired for < 12 h after the first copulation ovulated, whereas all females paired >= 12 h after the first copulation ovulated. Virtually all (> 99%) oocytes recovered from females paired for >= 12 h after first copulation were fertilized. Pairing time after first copulation and mean copulation-bout duration were significant (p < 0.05) determinants of embryo number. Embryos entered the uterine horns and implanted on Days 3 and 4, respectively, after first copulation (Day 0). Embryos cultured in vitro underwent approximately one cell division per day, a rate similar to that in vivo. We conclude that prairie voles ovulate reliably after pairing for >= 12 h, although some females showed exceptional sensitivity not predicted by the variables quantified. Prolonged mating for longer than 12 h increased the total embryos produced. This mechanism likely has adaptive significance for increasing offspring number.

1 Supported by a Smithsonian Institution National Board Fellowship and Smithsonian Institution Restricted Endowment Funds Award to R.L.R.

2 Correspondence: R. Lucille Roberts, Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, P.O. Box 529, 16701 Elmer School Road, Poolesville, MD 20837. FAX: 301 496 0066; lr123g{at}nih.gov






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Copyright © 1999 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction.