Abstract：
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a hormone produced by growing preantral and antral follicles of the ovary. AMH is accepted as an important biomarker for fertility and superovulation parameters in livestock species. This study aimed to evaluate changes in serum AMH level in the oestrous cycle, repeatability of AMH, the effect of age on serum AMH level and the effects of AMH on litter size in Romanov sheep. In the study, a total of 36 Romanov sheep were used as animal material. First blood samples (0th day) were collected from 36 ewes to evaluate AMH and progesterone levels. Second blood samples were collected randomly from 20 ewes 9 days after first sampling to compare AMH levels at two different periods of the oestrous cycle in Romanov ewes. The ewes were categorized into three groups as low, medium and high AMH based on their first AMH levels. Results indicated that serum AMH level did not change during the oestrous and dioestrous phases of the oestrous cycle and two random time points of the oestrous cycle (p > .05). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that there is a high (r = .95) and significant (p < .001) correlation between AMH levels at the 0th (AMH-1) and 9th (AMH-2) days. The effect of AMH level on litter size was found to be significant. Litter size was significantly higher in the high AMH group than in the low AMH group (p < .05). In addition, the age of ewes did not affect serum AMH levels (p > .05). ROC analysis indicates that AMH cut-off value >320 pg/mL with 70% sensitivity and 100% specificity can be used for litter size in Romanov ewes. In conclusion, AMH is highly repeatable and its serum AMH level did not change during the oestrous cycle in Romanov sheep. In addition, AMH affects litter size and can be reliably used as a marker for litter size in Romanov sheep.
摘要：
抗苗勒管激素（AMH）是一种通过生长卵巢的窦前和窦卵泡产生的激素。AMH被认为是家畜繁殖力和超数排卵参数的重要生物标志物。本研究旨在评估动情周期中血清AMH水平的变化，AMH的可重复性，年龄对罗曼诺夫绵羊血清AMH水平的影响以及AMH对产仔数的影响。在研究中,共有36只罗曼诺夫绵羊被用作动物材料。从36只母羊收集第一次血液样品(第0天)以评估AMH和孕酮水平。在第一次取样9天后，从20只母羊中随机收集第二份血液样本，以比较罗曼诺夫母羊在发情周期的两个不同时期的AMH水平。母羊被分为三组，低，基于他们的第一个AMH水平的中等和高AMH。结果表明，在发情周期的发情期和发情期以及发情周期的两个随机时间点，血清AMH水平没有变化（p>0.05）。Pearson相关分析表明，在第0天（AMH-1）和第9天（AMH-2）的AMH水平之间存在高（r=.95）和显着（p<.001）相关性。发现AMH水平对产仔数的影响显着。高AMH组的凋落物大小显著高于低AMH组(p<0.05)。此外,母羊的年龄不影响血清AMH水平（p>0.05）。ROC分析表明，AMH临界值>320pg/mL，灵敏度为70％，特异性为100％，可用于Romanov母羊的产仔数。总之,AMH具有高度的可重复性，其血清AMH水平在Romanov绵羊的发情周期中没有变化。此外,AMH会影响产仔数，可以可靠地用作罗曼诺夫绵羊产仔数的标记。
