Effects of Developmental Programming Caused by Maternal Nutrient Intake on Postnatal Performance of Beef Heifers and Their Calves

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the effects of maternal subnutrition in early pregnancy on the growth and reproductive performance of female offspring during their rearing, first gestation, and lactation. We inseminated 21 Parda and 15 Pirenaica multiparous cows and assigned them to a CONTROL (100% of nutrition requirements) or SUBNUT (65%) diet until day 82 of gestation. Cows were fed 100% requirements afterward. During the rearing of female offspring, growth, physiological profiles and ovarian follicular dynamic were studied. At 16 months old, heifers were inseminated. After first calving, dam–calf weights were recorded during lactation. Heifers born from CONTROL cows were heavier at weaning (four months old) than heifers born from SUBNUT cows, but this difference disappeared at the end of rearing and during the first gestation and lactation periods. All heifers reached puberty at a similar age and live weight. During rearing, SUBNUT heifers had higher concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids, urea, and cholesterol and a lower antral follicle count than CONTROL, but no difference was found in their fertility rate. After heifer first calving, dam–calf weights were similar among groups. In conclusion, maternal undernutrition reduced offspring postnatal gains at weaning, compromising metabolic status and follicle population during rearing but did not impair performance in the first gestation and lactation periods of beef heifers.

Efecto del nivel de energía de la dieta en el último tercio de gestación sobre el desempeño productivo y reproductivo de vacas para carne y su descendencia

“…En nuestro trabajo las terneras llegaron a la pubertad habiendo alcanzado entre el 65 % y 70 % del PV de adultas (Goldberg and Ravagnolo, 2015). Resultados similares fueron reportados por Noya et al (2019a). La ganancia diaria de PV de las terneras no fue diferente en el período destete a pubertad.…”

Symposium review: The role of adipose tissue in transition dairy cows: Current knowledge and future opportunities

“…In cattle, most of the available work of fetal programming of AT has been performed in beef cattle. Severe nutrient restriction to 65% of requirements in the first 82 d of pregnancy, followed by feeding to requirements, was associated with higher NEFA concentrations in offspring of Spanish beef cattle at 13 mo of age (Noya et al, 2019). Feeding a higher energy density diet to late gestation Angus-cross cows was associated with greater intramuscular fat content of the progeny at slaughter (Radunz et al, 2012).…”

Impacts of Epigenetic Processes on the Health and Productivity of Livestock

“…Also, 5hmC and 5mC were found to be negatively and positively correlated with body weight in offspring, respectively, and altered CpG methylation in the proopiomelanocortin ( POMC ) promoter region induced histone modification through binding of MBD1 to 5mC, which reduced POMC expression ( Marco et al, 2016 ). Furthermore, it was reported that changes in diet during pregnancy can also influence the reproduction ability of female offspring, which may be regulated by epigenetic modifications ( Noya et al, 2019 ; Shah and Chauhan, 2019 ).…”