Bradford W Daigneault

Bradford W Daigneault,

Assistant Professor Of Reproductive Physiology

Department: AG-ANIMAL SCIENCES
Business Phone: (352) 273-2021
Business Email: b.daigneault@ufl.edu

About Bradford W Daigneault

Dr. Daigneault is an Assistant Professor of Reproductive Physiology in the Department of Animal Sciences and a Courtesy Faculty member of Large Animal and Clinical Sciences. He conducts basic and applied research using large animal models to address environmental stressors that affect male fertility and subsequent embryo development. Common laboratory techniques include sperm function assays, in vitro fertilization, CRISPR delivery for gene editing in oocytes, and various genomic and epigenomic strategies. His laboratory is also conducting research to understand embryo origins of placental formation.

Equine reproduction is a separate focus of investigation with projects to advance the commercialization of equine in vitro fertilization, immunocontraception in feral horses and methods to improve shipment of cooled stallion sperm for artificial insemination.

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Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2023-2024
ANS4915 Honors Thesis Research in Animal Sciences
2022-2024
ANS6312C Applied Livestock Reproduction
2020-2024
ANS3319C Reproductive Physiology and Endocrinology in Domestic Animals
2023
ANS6751 Physiology of Reproduction
2022-2023
ANS6932 Special Topics in Animal Science
2022-2023
ANS4932 Special Topics in Animal Sciences
2020-2022,2024
ANS4320C Applied Livestock Reproduction
2020
ANS6905 Problems in Animal Science
2024
ANS6940 Supervised Teaching
2024-2025
GMS6491 Journal Club in Physiology

Research Profile

Environmental influences on post-ejaculatory sperm function through embryo development

The laboratory specializes in utilizing large animal models to address emerging and existing reasons for infertility in animals and humans. We primarily use bovine gametes and embryos to address idiopathic subfertility that also serve as models for human embryo development. Existing projects in the laboratory equally span male and female reproductive biology with a concentric focus on basic functions that drive early embryo development for applied and translational agriculture and biomedical sciences. Assisted reproductive technologies are a large component of research (IVF, ET, AI, vitrification) spanning multiple species (bovine, equine, ovine, porcine). Complementary techniques include the use of CRISPR/Cas technologies (zygotic injection, electroporation) for gene editing to identify genomic requirements of early embryo development and pregnancy recognition including paternal contributions to blastocyst formation. In complement, the laboratory models gamete and embryo environmental interactions with a focus on environmental stressors that alter sperm function and embryo development both structurally and at the genome/epigenomic levels. We also optimize and design semen extenders for multiple purposes in different species for commercial and research applications.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0002-8329-4221

Areas of Interest
  • Biology of reproduction (embryo development, maintenance of pregnancy, and genetic control of reproduction)
  • Fertility Preservation

Publications

2024
Birth weight, growth indices, and seminal parameters in male offspring are resilient features to maternal pre-conceptional dietary manipulation in sheep.
Domestic animal endocrinology. 88 [DOI] 10.1016/j.domaniend.2024.106849. [PMID] 38608396.
2024
Consequences of gene editing of PRLR on thermotolerance, growth, and male reproduction in cattle.
FASEB bioAdvances. 6(8):223-234 [DOI] 10.1096/fba.2024-00029. [PMID] 39114445.
2024
Efficiency of embryo complementation and pluripotency maintenance following multiple passaging of in vitro-derived bovine embryos.
Reproduction, fertility, and development. 36 [DOI] 10.1071/RD24018. [PMID] 38902907.
2024
PPAR-gamma influences developmental competence and trophectoderm lineage specification in bovine embryos.
Reproduction (Cambridge, England). 167(2) [DOI] 10.1530/REP-23-0334. [PMID] 38301360.
2023
Characterization of bioenergetic and kinematic plasticity of bovine sperm reveals novel and dynamic temporal traits.
Reproduction (Cambridge, England). 166(2):135-147 [DOI] 10.1530/REP-23-0095. [PMID] 37252841.
2023
Pharmacological perturbation of peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma alters motility and mitochondrial function of bovine sperm.
Andrology. 11(1):155-166 [DOI] 10.1111/andr.13308. [PMID] 36198578.
2022
Environment to embryo: intersections of contaminant exposure and preimplantation embryo development in agricultural animals†.
Biology of reproduction. 107(4):869-880 [DOI] 10.1093/biolre/ioac121. [PMID] 35691671.
2022
Insights to maternal regulation of the paternal genome in mammalian livestock embryos: A mini-review.
Frontiers in genetics. 13 [DOI] 10.3389/fgene.2022.909804. [PMID] 36061209.
2022
Tributyltin chloride exposure to post-ejaculatory sperm reduces motility, mitochondrial function and subsequent embryo development.
Reproduction, fertility, and development. 34(12):833-843 [DOI] 10.1071/RD21371. [PMID] 35610772.
2021
114 Rosiglitazone extends maintenance of frozen-thawed bull sperm for 24 hours at ambient temperature.
Reproduction, fertility, and development. 34(2) [DOI] 10.1071/RDv34n2Ab114. [PMID] 35231251.
2021
62 Functional characterisation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) in bovine blastocyst development and early trophectoderm formation.
Reproduction, fertility, and development. 34(2) [DOI] 10.1071/RDv34n2Ab62. [PMID] 35231318.
2021
Dynamics of paternal contributions to early embryo development in large animals.
Biology of reproduction. 104(2):274-281 [DOI] 10.1093/biolre/ioaa182. [PMID] 32997138.
2021
Transient receptor potential polycystin-2 (TRPP2) regulates motility and intracellular calcium of porcine sperm.
Andrologia. 53(8) [DOI] 10.1111/and.14124. [PMID] 34042198.
2020
Simple workflow for genome and methylation analyses of ejaculated bovine spermatozoa with low sperm input.
BioTechniques. 68(3):155-158 [DOI] 10.2144/btn-2019-0121. [PMID] 31937114.
2018
CRISPR editing validation, immunostaining and DNA sequencing of individual fixed bovine embryos.
BioTechniques. 65(5):281-283 [DOI] 10.2144/btn-2018-0051. [PMID] 30394131.
2018
Embryonic POU5F1 is Required for Expanded Bovine Blastocyst Formation.
Scientific reports. 8(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-018-25964-x. [PMID] 29773834.
2018
Follistatin Rescues Blastocyst Development of Poor Quality Porcine Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes by Delaying Meiotic Resumption With Decreased cGMP.
Reproductive sciences (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). 25(5):759-772 [DOI] 10.1177/1933719117725829. [PMID] 28845753.
2016
Clinical and Functional Analyses of Frozen Porcine Sperm that Indicate IVF Success
Clinics in Mother and Child Health. 13(2) [DOI] 10.4172/2090-7214.1000241.
2015
Enhanced fertility prediction of cryopreserved boar spermatozoa using novel sperm function assessment.
Andrology. 3(3):558-68 [DOI] 10.1111/andr.12035. [PMID] 25914302.
2014
LewisX-containing glycans on the porcine oviductal epithelium contribute to formation of the sperm reservoir.
Biology of reproduction. 91(6) [DOI] 10.1095/biolreprod.114.119503. [PMID] 25339106.
2014
Novel and traditional traits of frozen-thawed porcine sperm related to in vitro fertilization success.
Theriogenology. 82(2):266-73 [DOI] 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2014.04.006. [PMID] 24839923.
2012
Cryopreservation of Cooled Semen and Evaluation of Sperm Holding Media for Potential Use in Equine-Assisted Reproduction Procedures
Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 32(9):569-574 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jevs.2012.01.006.

Grants

Jul 2024 ACTIVE
A CRISPR Approach To Determining PPARG Regulation Of Fatty Acid Availability That Influences Embryo Origins Of Conceptus Formation In Cattle
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: US DEPT OF AG NATL INST OF FOOD AND AG
Oct 2023 – Jul 2024
Association between residual feed intake and fertility-related measures in young bulls
Role: Co-Project Director/Principal Investigator
Funding: FL CATTLE ENHANCEMENT BOARD via FL DEPT OF AG AND CONSUMER SER
Oct 2023 – Jul 2024
Finding new sperm traits that more accurately estimate bull fertility for semen analyses
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: FL CATTLE ENHANCEMENT BOARD via FL DEPT OF AG AND CONSUMER SER
Aug 2023 ACTIVE
PhD Scholarship Program, US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor (Phase I) – Muhammad Sohail Siddique
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: UF FOUNDATION via HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION PAKISTAN
Jan 2021 ACTIVE
Reproductive Biotechnology Concentration at University of Florida
Role: Co-Project Director/Principal Investigator
Funding: US DEPT OF AG NATL INST OF FOOD AND AG

Education

Postdoc Scholar – USDA, NIH T32 Trainee
2015-2020 · Michigan State University
PhD Student – Animal Sciences
2010-2015 · University of Illinois
MS Student – Biomedical Sciences – Equine Reproduction
2007-2009 · Colorado State University
Undergraduate Student
2003-2006 · Texas A&M University

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 273-2021
Emails:
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 110910
GAINESVILLE FL 32611