Metabolomics: A powerful tool to enhance Brazilian livestock productivity

• Grant number: 23/17999-2
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: February 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Bruna Lima Chechin Catussi
• Grantee: Bruna Lima Chechin Catussi
• Company: IONVET LABORATORIO CLINICO E PESQUISA LTDA
• CNAE: Criação de bovinos ; Atividades de apoio à pecuária
• City: São Paulo
• Pesquisadores principais: Pietro Sampaio Baruselli
• Associated researchers: Diogo de Oliveira Silva ; José Mendes Aldrighi
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/01426-9 - Metabolomics: a powerful tool to enhance Brazilian livestock productivity, BP.PIPE

Abstract

Brazil, a leader in the beef industry with the largest commercial herd, faces challenges in productivity efficiency, evidenced by low calf production per cow per year. Given this scenario, the present research project proposes an innovative approach to enhance the productivity and sustainability of Brazilian livestock farming. By increasing the selection pressure of animals with traits representing the main production bottlenecks, such as sexual precocity and feed efficiency, the aim is to drive a short-cycle livestock farming and reduce production costs, making the sector more competitive. IonVet employs metabolomics, a science that analyzes an organism's metabolites, providing valuable insights into its physiological state and gene-environment interactions. By identifying and quantifying these metabolites, metabolomics coupled with artificial intelligence emerge as a crucial tool in precision medicine, aiding in the prediction of desired phenotypes, even in the face of individual and environmental variabilities. IonVet's research project aims to develop, through metabolic biomarkers, a selection tool for phenotypes related to sexual precocity and feed efficiency in cattle, both males and females. With promising initial results and an accuracy exceeding 80% in identifying all evaluated phenotypes, the project now advances to the large-scale validation phase, conducting two thousand analyses to expand the database. This additional selection tool will provide producers with the ability to assess their animals more accurately, facilitating strategic decision-making in herd selection. By enhancing animal selection and the production of quality animal protein in less time, the project will contribute to economic growth, job creation, and the strengthening of the national agricultural industry. (AU)