Assessing reproductive performance in beef and dairy cattle using metabolic profile

• Grant number: 15/21224-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 15, 2016
• End date: December 14, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Production
• Principal Investigator: José Luiz Moraes Vasconcelos
• Grantee: Tiago Leiva
• Supervisor: Duane H. Keisler
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Missouri, Columbia (UM), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/14512-6 - Effect of energy sources (starch, pectin or fat) and chromium supplementation, on high energy diet, on serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, and non-esterified fatty acids on lactating dairy cows, BP.DR

Abstract

1) Establish the relationship between animal metabolic status and reproductive performance. a) Will cows receiving corn supplementation have increased reproductive performance compared to cows that are not receiving corn supplementation? b) Will cows receiving corn supplementation show changes in metabolic status that are predictive of animal performance compared to cows are not receiving corn supplementation? 2) Establish relationship between pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGSs) and pregnancy maintenance. a) Determine a cutoff value for PAGs concentration at d30 of gestation in cows and whether this is or not an accurate predictor of pregnancy maintenance. b) Determine relationship between cows showing or not estrus, embryonic mortality and PAGs production. c) Investigate new methodologies for assessing PAG concentration. Note: This project is an important connection between Brazil and USA in the attemptive to understand agriculture production and basic science in their various stages of development. One of the common interests in this study is to determine a metabolic profile for these animals and, later, formulate a prediction algorithm which will be useful for cattle reproductive potential identification and classification. Brazilian livestock industry and researchers have gathered data from many animals, from different herds. Meanwhile, American researchers are performing metabolic and mathematical analyses. Each component of this project is in a different stage of execution and has, at least, one publication in review process. There is one part of this project that has not been funded and did not progress, but has a great impact potential in dairy and beef industry, which is the development of new methodologies to evaluate PAGs concentrations. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LEIVA, T.; COOKE, R. F.; BRANDAO, A. P.; PARDELLI, U.; RODRIGUES, R. O.; CORRA, F. N.; VASCONCELOS, J. L. M.. Effects of concentrate type and chromium propionate on insulin sensitivity, productive and reproductive parameters of lactating dairy cows consuming excessive energy. ANIMAL, v. 11, n. 3, p. 436-444, MAR 2017. (14/13291-6, 15/21224-0, 14/14512-6)

LEIVA, T.; COOKE, R. F.; BRANDAO, A. P.; SCHUBACH, K. M.; BATISTA, L. F. D.; MIRANDA, M. F.; COLOMBO, E. A.; RODRIGUES, R. O.; JUNIOR, J. R. G.; CERRI, R. L. A.; et al. Supplementing an immunomodulatory feed ingredient to modulate thermoregulation, physiologic, and production responses in lactating dairy cows under heat stress conditions. JOURNAL OF DAIRY SCIENCE, v. 100, n. 6, p. 4829-4838, JUN 2017. (15/21224-0)