A simple mathematical model of the bovine estrous cycle: follicle development and endocrine interactions
Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:0297-zib-11682
- Bovine fertility is the subject of extensive research in animal sciences, especially because fertility of dairy cows has declined during the last decades. The regulation of estrus is controlled by the complex interplay of various organs and hormones. Mathematical modeling of the bovine estrous cycle could help in understanding the dynamics of this complex biological system. In this paper we present a mathematical model of the bovine estrous cycle that includes the processes of follicle and corpus luteum development and the key hormones that interact to control these processes. Focus in this paper is on development of the model, but also some simulation results are presented, showing that a set of equations and parameters is obtained that describes the system consistent with empirical knowledge. Even though the majority of the mechanisms that are included are only known qualitatively as stimulatory or inhibitory effects, the model surprisingly well features quantitative observations made in reality. This model of the bovine estrous cycle could be used as a basis for more elaborate models with the ability to study effects of external manipulations and genetic differences.
Author: | H. Marike T. Boer, Claudia Stötzel, Susanna RöblitzORCiD, Peter Deuflhard, Roel F. Veerkamp, Henri Woelders |
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Document Type: | ZIB-Report |
Tag: | cow; hormone patterns; ordinary differential equations; reproduction; systems biology |
MSC-Classification: | 65-XX NUMERICAL ANALYSIS / 65Lxx Ordinary differential equations / 65L09 Inverse problems |
90-XX OPERATIONS RESEARCH, MATHEMATICAL PROGRAMMING / 90Cxx Mathematical programming [See also 49Mxx, 65Kxx] / 90C31 Sensitivity, stability, parametric optimization | |
92-XX BIOLOGY AND OTHER NATURAL SCIENCES / 92Cxx Physiological, cellular and medical topics / 92C30 Physiology (general) | |
92-XX BIOLOGY AND OTHER NATURAL SCIENCES / 92Cxx Physiological, cellular and medical topics / 92C42 Systems biology, networks | |
Date of first Publication: | 2010/04/19 |
Series (Serial Number): | ZIB-Report (10-06) |
ISSN: | 1438-0064 |
ZIB-Reportnumber: | 10-06 |
Published in: | Appeared in: Journal of Theoretical Biology vol. 278 iss. 1 (2011), pp. 20-31 |