scholarly journals Relationships among Indicators of Metabolism, Mammary Health and the Microbiomes of Periparturient Holstein Cows

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Daniela C. Tardón ◽  
Christian Hoffmann ◽  
Fernanda C. R. Santos ◽  
Nathalia Decaris ◽  
Filipe A. Pinheiro ◽  
...  

During the period called “transition”, from the ceasing of milk production to the reestablishment of full milk production, it is postulated that the microbiota of cows undergo changes in composition driven by the fluxes in systemic energetics and that these changes appear to impact the health of cows. The primary objective of this study was to document the make-up of the microbiota in the mammary gland compared with those in the vagina and in feces in an attempt to determine any correlations between the composition of the microbiota, the impact of blood indicators of energetic metabolites and the health of the mammary gland at the time of calving. Samples were collected from 20 Holstein dairy cows immediately following calving to assess their general health and measure the microbiomes associated with each cow using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results indicated that the microbiomes found within each maternal niche were different. A set of significant negative associations between the blood energetic biomarkers (NEFAs, BHB, triglycerides and cholesterol) and the taxa Pseudomonas, Christensenellaceae and Methanobrevibacter were observed in this study. In contrast, Escherichia and Romboutsia were positively correlated with the same energetic metabolites. Therefore, it was concluded that there appears to be a set of relationships between the microorganisms that colonize several niches of cows and the sufficiency of systemic energy metabolism. Furthermore, both the microbiome and energy dynamics impact the health of the mammary gland of the host.

Author(s):  
D. Tristant ◽  
C. A. Moran

SummaryThe following trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of feeding Yea-Sacc® (YS; Alltech Inc, USA), a zootechnical feed additive based on a live probiotic strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to lactating dairy cows over a 12 week period. Sixty-four primiparous and multiparous Holstein dairy cows, grouped to give similar range of parity, physiological and milk production stages, were selected for the study. Cows were equally allocated to either a control feed group or a diet supplemented with YS (32 cows per treatment). The test diet was formulated to include YS (Yea-Sacc® Farm Pak) incorporated in the total mixed ration (TMR), supplying a target dose of 5 × 107 CFU/kg feed dry matter (DM). This target dose delivered 1 × 109 CFU/cow/day, for a cow consuming 20 kg feed (DM basis) daily. Each cow was considered a replicate unit. Cows were fed a nutritionally adequate total TMR plus hay and a supplementary protein/energy concentrate (calculated according to milk yield) for 12 weeks, supplied once a day after the morning milking. Weigh backs of feed were recorded daily, with refusals being maintained at 3% of the total intake. During the 12 week study period, YS had significant beneficial effects on milk production (+0.8 kg/day; P = 0.003), energy corrected milk production (+1.4 kg/day; P < 0.0001), synthesis of milk protein (+36 g/day; P = 0.001), milk protein content (+0.3 g/kg; P = 0.009), and milk urea content (−0.09 mg/l; P = 0.004). The synthesis of milk fat was similar between treatments but milk fat content was lower for the YS group compared to the control group (−1.1 g/kg; P = 0.0002). Lactose content was always higher (+0.8 g/kg; P < 0.0001) for the YS group, indicating enhanced energy utilisation. In general, the effect of YS was higher during the first study period (one to seven weeks), when cows were in early lactation and the production potential was higher. YS cows produced significantly more milk during the study, and an additional 220 kg milk per cow was sold from this group from the output measured from the beginning of the study to two weeks post-trial. However, the statistical analysis including the post-study period did not show a significant effect. The 305-day simulated milk production was higher for the YS group (+400 kg/cow) but again the difference was not significant. In conclusion, YS at a target dose of 5 × 107 CFU/kg DM improved milk production and milk quality in healthy dairy cows. In addition, when the data were included in a whole-farm model, feeding YS reduced methane emissions by 4%, reduced the number of animals required for the desired milk production by 4% and increased overall farm margins by 1.4%.


1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Bines ◽  
I. C. Hart ◽  
S. V. Morant

1. Circulating concentrations of some hormones and metabolites and nitrogen balance were measured in lactating beef and dairy cows given daily injections of growth hormone (GH) and were compared to values before injection. Changes in milk yield and composition were recorded in these cows and in additional cows injected with GH fragments.2. GH, but not GH fragments, raised milk yield while milk composition did not change. GH injection caused a large, rapid increase in the level of the hormone in blood and slower, smaller increases in the concentrations of insulin, prolactin and thyroxine. Blood metabolite levels were unaltered except for a rise in glucose concentration in beef cows during GH injection and a fall in 3-hydroxybutyrate concentration in the same cows after the injections ceased. An increase in N output in milk was partly balanced by a reduction in urinary N so that N retention did not change significantly.3. GH caused a reduction in food intake in the beef cows.4. The results are discussed in relation to control of partition of nutrients in the lactating cow, where GH is considered to play an important role. It was concluded that this role may be in increasing the supply of energy metabolites for milk synthesis, rather than a direct effect on the activity of the mammary gland.


1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanne L. Burton ◽  
Brian W. McBride ◽  
Elliot Block ◽  
David R. Glimm ◽  
John J. Kennelly

Unprecedented numbers of technical papers, abstracts, and short communications have been published in the past decade regarding the effects of exogenous bovine growth hormone on milk production, health, and reproductive efficiency of treated dairy cows. In well-managed dairy herds, exogenous growth hormone increases milk production without altering normal variability in milk composition. This has held true regardless of dairy breed tested, geographical location studied, or feeding management system used. Also consistent across studies is the rapidity of the galactopoietic effect of administered bovine growth hormone, which arises from altered partitioning and use of post-absorptive nutrients and increased synthetic capacity of the mammary gland. Growth hormone and its associated peptide, insulin-like growth factor-I, are now known to provide chronic lipolytic, diabetogenic, and gluconeogenic signals to target tissues culminating in increased mammary gland availability of glucose and nonesterified fatty acids. Together with yet ill-defined effects on mammary secretory tissue, this homeorhetic control of metabolism elicited by exogenous growth hormone is so efficient that treated cows are not more susceptible to metabolic disorders than untreated cows. However, some studies have reported an increased frequency of mastitis in groups of treated cows. This has been attributed mainly to increased milk volume in the mammary glands of treated cows and no convincing data are available that show decreased mammary gland immunity as a result of growth hormone treatments. On the contrary, an expanding body of evidence implicates growth hormone as a key neuroendocrine factor that is required for immunological competence. Trends of decreased reproductive efficiency in cows treated with growth hormone have also been reported, but available data imply that this is probably an indirect effect via prolonged negative energy balance in cows treated in early lactation rather than a direct negative effect on estrous cycling via altered reproductive hormone profiles. The objectives of the present review are to bring into focus and summarize pertinent biological discoveries regarding the treatment of dairy cows with recombinant bovine growth hormone, and to explore areas where additional growth hormone research is needed or warranted. Key words: Growth hormone, somatotropin, dairy cows, insulin-like growth factor-I


Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Pauletto ◽  
Ramy Elgendy ◽  
Andrea Ianni ◽  
Elettra Marone ◽  
Mery Giantin ◽  
...  

The increasing demand for more animal products put pressure on improving livestock production efficiency and sustainability. In this context, advanced animal nutrition studies appear indispensable. Here, the effect of grape pomace (GP), the polyphenol-rich agricultural by-product, was evaluated on Holstein-Friesian cows’ whole-blood transcriptome, milk production and composition. Two experimental groups were set up. The first one received a basal diet and served as a control, while the second one received a 7.5% GP-supplemented diet for a total of 60 days. Milk production and composition were not different between the group; however, the transcriptome analysis revealed a total of 40 genes significantly affected by GP supplementation. Among the most interesting down-regulated genes, we found the DnaJ heat-shock protein family member A1 (DNAJA1), the mitochondrial fission factor (MFF), and the impact RWD domain protein (IMPACT) genes. The gene set enrichment analysis evidenced the positive enrichment of ‘interferon alpha (IFN-α) and IFN-γ response’, ‘IL6-JAK-STAT3 signaling’ and ‘complement’ genes. Moreover, the functional analysis denoted positive enrichment of the ‘response to protozoan’ and ‘negative regulation of viral genome replication’ biological processes. Our data provide an overall view of the blood transcriptomic signature after a 60-day GP supplementation in dairy cows which mainly reflects a GP-induced immunomodulatory effect.


2001 ◽  
Vol 84 (10) ◽  
pp. 2250-2259 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.K. Reynolds ◽  
S.B. Cammell ◽  
D.J. Humphries ◽  
D.E. Beever ◽  
J.D. Sutton ◽  
...  

Dairy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-366
Author(s):  
Andrés López Radcenco ◽  
María de Lourdes Adrien ◽  
Gretel Ruprechter ◽  
Elena de Torres ◽  
Ana Meikle ◽  
...  

The metabolic alterations associated with the increase in milk production make the transition period critical to the health of dairy cows, usually leading to a higher incidence of disease in periparturient animals. In this manuscript, we describe the use of NMR-based untargeted metabolomics to follow how these changes impact the serum metabolome in a group of 28 transition dairy cows with no initial clinical diseases. Principal component analysis (PCA) of serum 1H NMR data from four weeks before calving to 8 weeks after parturition allowed us to clearly identify four stages during the transition period. Pairwise comparisons using orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and univariate data analysis led to the identification of 18 metabolites that varied significantly through these stages. Species such as acetate, betaine, and creatine are observed early after calving, while other markers of metabolic stress, including acetone, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and choline, accumulate significantly at the height of milk production. Furthermore, marked variations in the levels of lactate, allantoin, alanine, and other amino acids reveal the activation of different gluconeogenic pathways following parturition. Concomitant with a return to homeostasis, a gradual normalization of the serum metabolome occurs 8 weeks after calving. Correlations of metabolite levels with dietary and metabolic adaptations based on animal parity could also be identified. Overall, these results show that NMR-based chemometric methods are ideally suited to monitor manifestations of metabolic diseases throughout the transition period and to assess the impact of nutritional management schemes on the metabolism of dairy cows.


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