Duration of embryonic diapause in the brush-tailed bettong, Bettongia penicillata (Potoroidae): effect of age of quiescent corpus luteum

It has been shown that changes to the frequency of sucking by the pouch young do not affect the time of reactivation of the quiescent corpus luteum and diapause embryo in Bettongia penicillata; these observations led to the suggestion that the corpus luteum may have an inherent maximum duration of quiescence. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the age of the corpus luteum on the timing of its reactivation. Ovulation fails to occur post partum in female B. penicillata isolated from males, and the introduction of a male B. penicillata induces oestrus in females suckling a young in the pouch. Oestrus was induced from Day 23 of lactation to Day 76, in different females, and the corpus luteum became quiescent. All parturitions occurred between Day 95 and Day 103 of lactation (average, Day 98.8), at the time expected if the corpus luteum had been formed post partum. Duration of quiescence of the corpus luteum ranged from 60 days to 10 days, compared with 83.9 +/- 0.43 days in females that mated post partum. The results show that the age of the corpus luteum does not affect the timing of its redevelopment and release of the embryo from diapause near the end of the period of the young being suckled within the pouch.

Male-induced oestrus and ovulation in female brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia penicillata) suckling a young in the pouch

Female brush-tailed bettongs isolated from males usually do not come into oestrus or ovulate. Individuals isolated during pregnancy and at parturition do not ovulate post partum and are in the unusual condition for a macropodoid of suckling a pouch young but lacking a quiescent corpus luteum or a diapause embryo. Females in this condition were tested for their ability to come into oestrus and to ovulate after re-introduction to the male. When returned to the male on Day 1 of lactation, females generally mated before Day 2 and ovulated; at all later stages of lactation, six or seven days after being returned to the male > or = 50% of females came into oestrus, mated and ovulated. The vaginal smears of most females in isolation were typical of post oestrus on Day 2; after being returned to the male on Day 11, these females came into oestrus in seven days, mated and ovulated. The results show that suckling a young in the pouch does not suppress ovulation in this species provided that an adult male is present. Moreover, the results indicate that the mechanism of male-induced ovulation 24 h post partum differs from that of the remainder of the pouch suckling period.