Editorial: The Journal of Dairy Research

Abstract

Welcome to the February 2016 issue of the Journal of Dairy Research. To my knowledge, this is the first time in our 87 year history that we have published an Editorial. The Journal's raison d'être has been, and continues to be, the dissemination of novel, international quality research conducted in the broad spectrum of sciences that are concerned with the production and utilisation of milk. Future Editorials might contribute to that purpose by reporting scientific advance. This one, however, is a little different, in that it deals with the Journal itself. This Editorial gives me a public opportunity to thank a number of people. I shall then go on to briefly consider why the Journal came into being, why it has been so important for so many years, and why it will remain a major force for many years to come. Finally, I shall explain the Journal's new systems and policies, and provide an updated and futuristic interpretation of the Journal's scope and aspirations. First and foremost, I thank the outgoing Editors, David Chamberlain and Eric Needs, for their dedicated and skilful shepherding of the Journal in recent years. Not only have they maintained excellent standards of scientific communication, they have also done that in a uniquely personal way, as many of you reading this will have experienced at first hand. I can assure you that the Journal remains fully committed both to scientific excellence and to all of its contributors as excellent scientists. I also thank the Trustees of the Hannah Research Foundation for having faith in me as the new Editor in Chief, and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) for allowing me to undertake the task. My Editorial duties will be made easier by the valuable assistance of an Executive Editorial Team, and I am grateful to Mansel Griffiths (University of Guelph, Canada) and Eric Hillerton (Massey University, New Zealand) for being the first members of that team. We are gradually creating an Editorial Board that will reflect the Journal's broad scientific and geographical horizons, and once again I extend thanks to those who have already committed time and effort to the Board. Peer Review is a time-consuming exercise, and we are deeply indebted to all those other expert referees who have given freely of their time during 2015 and before. Last, but by no means least, I thank all who have submitted their research for consideration. Without manuscripts, the Journal would not exist. "When history comes to be written, no man, I believe will be found to have played a greater part in the moulding of the thoughts of his generation than Sidney Webb".

Examination of the xanthosine response on gene expression of mammary epithelial cells using RNA-seq technology

“…We demonstrate that this method provides abundant quantity and good quality of RNA suitable for RNA sequencing. This shows consistency with the findings of other studies, in which milk fat has been used to assess the transcriptome profile of milk production related genes in human [ 7 ], buffalo [ 26 ], bovine [ 27 ] and goat [ 28 ].…”

Maternal metabolism affects endometrial expression of oxidative stress and FOXL2 genes in cattle

“…Continuous production of ROS results from normal metabolic processes, but it is known that this production rate varies with alterations of metabolic demand. In clinically healthy dairy cows, antioxidant status in the plasma compartment has been shown to reflect variations in maternal metabolism, during the periparturient and lactation periods [ 57 , 58 ]. Our findings show that transcript levels of endometrial CAT , SOD1 and SOD2 are similar between pregnant LACT cows and the control pregnancy group represented by inseminated heifers.…”

Ninety years young

“…The reason for the three ‘missing’ volumes is a simple one; in the years spanning 1942 and 1948 only three volumes appeared, but these were also the war-ravaged years that created the greatest need for increased production of higher quality food, and this was the challenge that the Journal answered. I have addressed our origins as a research journal ‘for the Empire’ in the very first of our more recent Editorials, written four years ago (Knight, 2016). The Empire in question was, of course, the British Empire, and in many respects the early Journal had a very strong UK flavour: all but one of the ninety or so articles published in the first five volumes were from English-speaking nations (the exception was from Denmark).…”