Eicosanoid-immunometabotypes reveal genotypic links to cervicovaginal pH in progestagen synchronised South African Dohne Merino ewes.

Metabolites can be detected in various bodily fluids such as blood, urine and cervicovaginal secretions. Cervicovaginal fluid has distinct characteristics such as colour and pH that are affected by the underlying health of an ewe and her associated metabolic and endocrine processes dedicated towards maintaining homeostasis particularly after stress is experienced. This study profiled distinct metabolomic phenotypes defined by the pattern and abundance of eicosanoid mediators that reflect the underlying state of Dohne Merino ewes' immune activation and metabolic regulation based on their comparative cervicovaginal metabolome and pH before and after the administration of an intravaginal pessary using high resolution liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Further, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analysed using genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to correlate genomic effects of cervicovaginal pH. Twenty ewes were allocated to each treatment group defined by a CIDR-, sponge- or injection-based estrus synchronisation protocol and their cervicovaginal fluid sampled using FLOQSwabs. This study matched three features to metabolites of the KEGG