Poor maternal nutrition during pregnancy cause poor foetal growth, poor foetal mammary gland development and susceptibility to oxidative stress damages all causing poor reproductive performance in adulthood. Inadequate supply of nutrients for metabolic use of animals during pregnancy stages is the most prominent route of this problem at both pre and post natal lives of animals. Rabbits because of their ability to survive on forage and non-conventional animal feeds resources coupled with poor commercial production value attached to rabbits in some countries; are left out of fetal programming science. However, foetal programming at early, mid and late pregnancy as well as early post-birth periods in rabbit, can be a vital means of improving rabbit reproductive performance because these are the periods of gonads development and acquisition of important reproductive traits by the offspring. Fetal programming is a potential reproductive technology for improving rabbit reproductive performance because it is now clear that full range of altered offspring phenotypes includes impaired reproductive function occurred as results of failures during foetal development. In rats, sheep and non human primates, reproductive capacity is altered by challenges experienced during critical periods of foetal development and early post-birth period. This paper will discuss fetal programming practice as a potential reproductive technology for improving reproductive performance and overall productive life-time in rabbit. It also gave an overview of the current state of fetal programming research focusing on improving rabbit reproductive performance through exploration of functional properties in microalgae. 1511502671.php
FETAL PROGRAMMING: POTENTIAL TOOL FOR IMPROVING REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF RABBITS – A REVIEW
Date : 2017-12-06 Volume : 9