Kisspeptin and seasonality in sheep

Plain-language summary

Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.

This review discusses kisspeptin and seasonality in sheep. The authors describe sheep as seasonal breeders with a period of reproductive quiescence during spring and early summer, and state that during the non-breeding period kisspeptin expression in the arcuate nucleus is markedly reduced. They interpret this as suggesting that mechanisms controlling seasonal changes in reproduction involve kisspeptin neurons, which appear to regulate GnRH neurons and transmit sex-steroid feedback. Because the non-breeding season is characterized by increased negative feedback of estrogen on GnRH secretion, the authors state kisspeptin neurons seem fundamentally involved in determining breeding state, and note that the reduction in kisspeptin neuronal function during the non-breeding season can be corrected by kisspeptin infusion, which causes ovulation in seasonally acyclic females. No numerical data are reported.