Maternal periconceptual nutrition, early pregnancy, and developmental outcomes in beef cattle

Abstract

The focus of this review is maternal nutrition during the periconceptual period and offspring developmental outcomes in beef cattle, with an emphasis on the first 50 d of gestation, which represents the embryonic period. Animal agriculture in general, and specifically the beef cattle industry, currently faces immense challenges. The world needs to significantly increase its output of animal food products by 2050 and beyond to meet the food security and agricultural sustainability needs of the rapidly growing human population. Consequently, efficient and sustainable approaches to livestock production are essential. Maternal nutritional status is a major factor that leads to developmental programming of offspring outcomes. Developmental programming refers to the influence of pre-and postnatal factors, such as inappropriate maternal nutrition, that affect growth and development and result in long-term consequences for health and productivity of the offspring. In this review, we discuss recent studies in which we and others have addressed the questions, “Is development programmed periconceptually?” and, if so, “Does it matter practically to the offspring in production settings?” The reviewed studies have demonstrated that the periconceptual period is important not only for pregnancy establishment but also may be a critical period during which fetal, placental, and potentially postnatal development and function are programmed. The evidence for fetal and placental programming during the periconceptual period is strong and implies that research efforts to mitigate the negative and foster the positive benefits of developmental programming need to include robust investigative efforts during the periconceptual period to better understand the implications for life-long health and productivity.

Maternal Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation and Rate of Maternal Weight Gain Affects Placental Expression of Energy Metabolism and Transport-Related Genes

“…Evidence suggests that biological mechanisms regulating normal growth, development, and nutrient utilization are programmed in utero for postnatal growth and adult function even during the earliest stages of development [ 40 ]. Additionally, large amounts of epidemiological data have shown that an impaired intrauterine environment has long-term consequences (reviewed in [ 4 , 41 ]). The key role performed by the placenta is mediated by changes in the gene expression that leads to differential programming of fetal tissues.…”

Cerebrum, liver, and muscle regulatory networks uncover maternal nutrition effects in developmental programming of beef cattle during early pregnancy

“…It's worth mentioning that due to the similarities underlying embryonic development in humans www.nature.com/scientificreports/ and cattle and the conserved genetic architecture of complex traits in both species 69 , our findings can help understanding the effects of maternal nutrition on human fetal development. Obesity, molecular disorders, and cardiovascular diseases later in life have been associated with pre-natal maternal stressors 8,70 . Pathways related to human diseases, such as maturity onset diabetes of the young and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, were overrepresented among the differentially regulated genes in our study.…”

Maternal Nutrition and Developmental Programming of Male Progeny

“…Developmental programming is the response to a specific maternal challenge, particularly nutritional, during a critical developmental window that persistently alters the trajectory of growth, physiology, and/or metabolism of the progeny [ 1 , 2 ]. Maternal nutrition during embryonic and fetal development can have short- and long-term consequences for the progeny [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The following review will discuss available literature examining the impacts of maternal energy and protein availability during gestation on subsequent bull and ram growth, development, and reproductive capacity.…”

“…Furthermore, changes in nutritional resource availablity, as in drought years, or projected market values for a calf or lamb crop may cause producers to inadequately supplement their gestating animals due to financial restraints or inability to source feedstuffs. Thus, beef cattle and sheep are often exposed to suboptimal nutrition during critical periods of fetal development, which consequently alter metabolic, energetic, and body composition response of the offspring [ 2 , 5 , 7 ]. To maintain maximum long-term productivity, producers must design and integrate supplementation programs, such as those focused on protein and energy, according to animal requirements and forage characteristics.…”