Altering ewe nutrition in late gestation: II. The impact on fetal development and offspring performance1

McGovern, Fiona; Campion, F. P.; Sweeney, T.; Fair, Seán; Lott, Stephen; Boland, T. M.

doi:10.2527/jas.2015-9020

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…methylation). Indeed, compared with lambs born to dams consuming dietary energy at 80% metabolizable energy (ME), maternal dietary energy at 120% of ME led to greater ADG from birth to weaning [ 52 ]. Those data agree with studies from non-ruminant animals reporting that birth weight is positively correlated with ADG [ 53 , 54 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal supply of methionine during late-pregnancy enhances rate of Holstein calf development in utero and postnatal growth to a greater extent than colostrum source

Alharthi

Batistel

Abdelmegeid

et al. 2018

J Animal Sci Biotechnol

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BackgroundPregnancy and early life are critical periods of plasticity during which the fetus and neonate may be influenced by environmental factors such as nutrition. Maternal methionine (Met) supply in non-ruminants during pregnancy can affect offspring development and growth. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate if increasing Met supply during late-pregnancy affects developmental parameters of the calf at birth and if either maternal Met or colostrum from Met-fed cows alters calf growth. Calves born to Holstein cows individually-fed a basal control [CON; 1.47 Mcal/kg dry matter (DM) and 15.3% crude protein] diet with no added Met or CON plus ethylcellulose rumen-protected Met (MET; Mepron® at 0.09% of diet DM; Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH, Germany) during the last 28 ± 2 d of pregnancy were used. A total of 39 calves were in CON (n = 22 bulls, 17 heifers) and 42 in MET (n = 20 bulls, 22 heifers). At birth, calves were randomly allocated considering dam treatment and colostrum as follows: 1) calves from CON cows and colostrum from CON cows (n = 21); 2) calves from CON cows and colostrum from MET cows (n = 18); 3) calves from MET cows and colostrum from MET cows (n = 22); and 4) calves from MET cows and colostrum from CON cows (n = 20). All calves were housed, managed, and fed individually during the first 9 wk of life.ResultsDespite greater daily DM intake pre-partum in cows fed MET (15.7 vs. 14.4 ± 0.12 kg/d, P < 0.05), colostrum quality and quantity were not affected by maternal diet. At birth, MET calves had greater (P ≤ 0.05) body weight (BW, 44.1 vs. 42.1 ± 0.70 kg), hip height (HH, 81.3 vs. 79.6 ± 0.53 cm) and wither height (WH, 77.8 vs. 75.9 ± 0.47 cm). In contrast, concentrations of His, Lys, and Asn in plasma were lower (P ≤ 0.05) in MET calves. Regardless of colostrum source, the greater BW, HH, and WH in MET calves at birth persisted through 9 wk of age resulting in average responses of + 3.1 kg BW, + 1.9 cm HH, and + 1.8 cm WH compared with CON. Average daily gain during the 9 wk was (P < 0.05) 0.72 ± 0.02 kg/d in MET compared with 0.67 ± 0.02 kg/d in CON calves. Respiratory scores were normal and did not differ (P > 0.05) due to maternal Met supply or colostrum source. However, fecal scores tended to be lower (P ≤ 0.10) in MET calves regardless of colostrum source.ConclusionsIncreasing the maternal supply of MET during late-pregnancy enhanced growth in utero as well as during the pre-weaning and early post-weaning periods. Although the ~ 1 kg/d greater DM intake during the last 2–3 wk prior to parturition could explain a portion of the 2 kg extra body mass of MET calves at birth, other mechanisms potentially encompassing nutrient assimilation efficiency likely played a role. Assessing the exact mechanisms sensitive to supply of Met or total amino acid supply during the latter stages of growth in utero merit further research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40104-018-0298-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal supply of methionine during late-pregnancy enhances rate of Holstein calf development in utero and postnatal growth to a greater extent than colostrum source

Alharthi

Batistel

Abdelmegeid

et al. 2018

J Animal Sci Biotechnol

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“…Lamb growth for the first eight weeks of life is closely correlated to nutrition that it receives from the ewe's milk. McGovern et al [44] and Campion et al [23] reported strong links between increased energy intake prepartum, estimated milk production, and subsequent lamb growth for the first 14 weeks of life. Hutton et al [60] reported that milk production and subsequent lamb performance was driven by diet type and nutrient intake postpartum when ewes were offered a single diet prepartum.…”

Section: Lamb Bw and Growth Ratementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies reported that CLW is a poor indicator of adequate ewe nutrition [43,44] with contradictory reports of the impact of modest (±20%) variations in late pregnancy energy intake on subsequent lamb birth weight [11,23]. However, studies reporting 35% differences in energy intake have reported differing lamb birth weights [45].…”

Section: Combined Litter Weightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the Effects of Whole Crop Wheat Silage on Ewe Performance during Late Gestation Compared to Traditional Grass Silage across Three Prolific Breed Types

Higgins

Campion

Jones

et al. 2020

Animals

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Provision of adequate nutrient intake in late gestation of the ewe is an important determinant of dam and offspring performance. A 2 × 3 factorial design experiment examining two forage types, whole crop wheat silage (WCWS) or grass silage (GS) offered to one of three prolific breed types, (Belclare X, Lleyn X, Mule (Bluefaced Leicester × Blackface Mountain)), was conducted. Forage type had no impact on dry matter (DM) or metabolizable energy (ME) intake, body weight and body condition score change, or colostrum production (p > 0.05). Ewes offered WCWS had lower crude protein (CP) intake (p < 0.0001) and a lower combined litter weight (p < 0.05). Mule ewes consumed less DM, CP, (p < 0.05), and ME (p < 0.01) compared to Belclare X and Lleyn X ewes however, water intake per kg DM consumed did not differ with breed type (p > 0.05). Colostrum yield over the first 18 h postpartum was lower for Mule ewes compared to other breed types (p < 0.05). In conclusion, results from this study suggest nutrient concentration and balance as opposed to forage type is important for late gestation nutrition and breed type can impact feed intake and colostrum yield.

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“…Lower birth weight has in different studies been associated with reduced survival rate [ 23 ], poorer growth rate during the suckling period and 24% lower weaning weight at 14 wk of age in sheep [ 21 ]. These findings may partly be explained by poorer mammary development of dams malnourished in late gestation [ 24 ], leading to a reduction in colostrum and early lactation milk production [ 9 , 25 , 26 ]. However, in other studies in sheep where the dietary intake of offspring was controlled after birth (artificial rearing), the postnatal growth appeared to be entirely determined by the postnatal and not the prenatal level of nutrition [ 9 , 10 , 27 , 28 ].…”

Section: Impacts Of Maternal Malnutrition On Postnatal Growth and Orgmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of prenatal nutrition on animal production and performance: a focus on growth and metabolic and endocrine function in sheep

Khanal

Nielsen

2017

J Animal Sci Biotechnol

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The concept of foetal programming (FP) originated from human epidemiological studies, where foetal life nutrition was linked to health and disease status later in life. Since the proposal of this phenomenon, it has been evaluated in various animal models to gain further insights into the mechanisms underlying the foetal origins of health and disease in humans. In FP research, the sheep has been quite extensively used as a model for humans. In this paper we will review findings mainly from our Copenhagen sheep model, on the implications of late gestation malnutrition for growth, development, and metabolic and endocrine functions later in life, and discuss how these implications may depend on the diet fed to the animal in early postnatal life. Our results have indicated that negative implications of foetal malnutrition, both as a result of overnutrition and, particularly, late gestation undernutrition, can impair a wide range of endocrine functions regulating growth and presumably also reproductive traits. These implications are not readily observable early in postnatal life, but are increasingly manifested as the animal approaches adulthood. No intervention or cure is known that can reverse this programming in postnatal life. Our findings suggest that close to normal growth and slaughter results can be obtained at least until puberty in animals which have undergone adverse programming in foetal life, but manifestation of programming effects becomes increasingly evident in adult animals. Due to the risk of transfer of the adverse programming effects to future generations, it is therefore recommended that animals that are suspected to have undergone adverse FP are not used for reproduction. Unfortunately, no reliable biomarkers have as yet been identified that allow accurate identification of adversely programmed offspring at birth, except for very low or high birth weights, and, in pigs, characteristic changes in head shape (dolphin head). Future efforts should be therefore dedicated to identify reliable biomarkers and evaluate their effectiveness for alleviation/reversal of the adverse programming in postnatal life. Our sheep studies have shown that the adverse impacts of an extreme, high-fat diet in early postnatal life, but not prenatal undernutrition, can be largely reversed by dietary correction later in life. Thus, birth (at term) appears to be a critical set point for permanent programming in animals born precocial, such as sheep. Appropriate attention to the nutrition of the late pregnant dam should therefore be a priority in animal production systems.

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Altering ewe nutrition in late gestation: II. The impact on fetal development and offspring performance1

Cited by 24 publications

References 44 publications

Maternal supply of methionine during late-pregnancy enhances rate of Holstein calf development in utero and postnatal growth to a greater extent than colostrum source

Maternal supply of methionine during late-pregnancy enhances rate of Holstein calf development in utero and postnatal growth to a greater extent than colostrum source

Examining the Effects of Whole Crop Wheat Silage on Ewe Performance during Late Gestation Compared to Traditional Grass Silage across Three Prolific Breed Types

Impacts of prenatal nutrition on animal production and performance: a focus on growth and metabolic and endocrine function in sheep

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