In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Anna Denicol, Associate Professor at the University of California, Davis, discusses the effects of heat stress on ovarian folliculogenesis and genetic selection of cattle for thermotolerance through the slick gene. She explains how temperature and humidity impact reproductive performance, shares follicle culture techniques, and explores how genetics can help sustain fertility under heat stress. Listen now on all major platforms!

"We saw that the follicles exposed to intermittent heat stress grew more slowly and were less viable after one week."

Meet the guest: Dr. Anna Denicol is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis. She earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology and Embryology from the University of Florida and completed postdoctoral research in ovarian and stem cell biology at Northeastern University. Her work focuses on reproductive and developmental biology in cattle, emphasizing folliculogenesis, assisted reproduction, and genetic adaptation to heat stress. 

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (00:46) Introduction
• (01:40) Follicular development stages
• (03:05) Techniques and challenges
• (05:14) Heat stress effects
• (08:46) Slick gene insights
• (10:26) Genetic heat tolerance
• (11:54) Closing thoughts

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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