Induction of ovulation by gonadotrophins in the Indian five-striped palm squirrel Funambulus pennanti (Wroughton)

Abstract

Superovulation was induced in palm squirrels by the administration of gonadotrophins. The regimen of treatment effective in inducing ovulation was 60 i.u. pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMS) administered in three doses of 20 i.u. on days 1, 4 and 7, followed by a single injection of 40 i.u. human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) on day 14. The same schedule of PMS and HCG administration induced ovulation in mature and immature squirrels both during the breeding season and the period of sexual quiescence. Ovulation did not occur in PMS-treated females if HCG was not administered. The period required for follicular growth before the follicles responded to the ovulatory stimulus of HCG was 13-14 days; the interval for follicular maturation leading to the release of the ovum was approximately 24 hr. Variations in the numbers of ova shed by different groups of females are related to the phase of the reproductive cycle and the age of the squirrels.