The hepatic and skeletal muscle ovine metabolomes as affected by weight loss: a study in three sheep breeds using NMR-metabolomics

Abstract

Sheep are a valuable resource for meat and wool production. During the dry summer, pastures are scarce and animals face Seasonal Weight Loss (SWL), which decreases production yields. The study of breeds tolerant to SWL is important to understand the physiological mechanisms of tolerance to nutritional scarcity, and define breeding strategies. Merino, Damara and Dorper sheep breeds have been described as having different levels of tolerance to SWL. In this work, we assess their liver and muscle metabolomes, and compare the responses to feed restriction. Ram lambs from each breed were divided into growth and feed restricted groups, over 42 days. Tissue metabolomes were assessed by 1H-NMR. The Dorper restricted group showed few changes in both tissues, suggesting higher tolerance to nutritional scarcity. The Merinos exhibited more differences between treatment groups. Major differences were related to fat and protein mobilization, and antioxidant activity. Between the Damara groups, the main differences were observed in amino acid composition in muscle and in energy-related pathways in the liver. Integration of present results and previous data on the same animals support the hypothesis that, Dorper and Damara breeds are more tolerant to SWL conditions and thus, more suitable breeds for harsh environmental conditions.

Mineral profiling of muscle and hepatic tissues of Australian Merino, Damara and Dorper lambs: Effect of weight loss

“…Mineral profiling has been extensively studied before, in the most varied contexts and species (Almeida et al, 2006; Giuffrida‐Mendoza, Arenas de Moreno, Uzcátegui‐Bracho, Rincón‐Villalobos, & Huerta‐Leidenz, 2007; Lérias et al, 2016; Mahmud, Rehman, Anwar, & Ali, 2011). This particular study has been performed at the end of a series of previously published papers (Almeida et al, 2013; Almeida et al, 2016; Ferreira et al, 2017; Miller et al, 2019; Palma, Scanlon, et al, 2016; Ribeiro, Madeira, et al, 2019; Scanlon et al, 2013) which allows the interaction of our results to others concerning SWL and tissue proteomics, metabolomics, amino acid quantification, animal performance and meat quality.…”

Skeletal muscle metabolomics and blood biochemistry analysis reveal metabolic changes associated with dietary amino acid supplementation in dairy calves

“…The metabolome, the complete set of small-molecules found within a biological sample, is directly related to the metabolic activity, protein activity and/or gene expression 15 , 16 . The skeletal muscle is suitable for metabolomic approaches, as several studies have been applied not only in differentiating meat characters of different cattle breeds 17 , geographic origins 18 , 19 , post mortem periods 20 and sheep breeds and farming conditions 21 , but also in evaluating meat conservation and aging through meat exudate 22 .…”

The Current Status of Indigenous Ovine Genetic Resources in Southern Africa and Future Sustainable Utilisation to Improve Livelihoods

“…In comparison to the Barbados blackbelly sheep in Malaysia, the Damara exhibited lower gastro-intestinal infection [33]. Tolerance to seasonal weight loss, which is an important adaptation trait during seasonal droughts, was exhibited by the Damara and Dorper breeds in relation to the Australian Merino [34,35].…”