LINKING AMINO ACIDS TO MILK FAT SYNTHESIS REGULATION

• Grant number: 17/03508-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: August 01, 2017
• End date: July 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Izabelle Auxiliadora Molina de Almeida Teixeira
• Grantee: Izabelle Auxiliadora Molina de Almeida Teixeira
• Host Investigator: Mark Daniel Hanigan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, United States

Abstract

The ability to manipulate milk fat synthesis has been of paramount importance to dairy farmers as milk fat content needs to meet the expectations of consumers and it affects profitability. Milk fat responses have been observed when dairy cows are supplemented with amino acids; however the mechanism of this phenomenon is still unclear. It has been demonstrated that amino acids play an important role in regulating the action of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1); for instance there is evidence that mTORC1 and the transcription factor sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) are both involved in regulating de novo fatty acid synthesis in mammary cells; therefore amino acids might play a role in milk fat synthesis. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of individual amino acids on transcription factors regulating milk fat synthesis. The study will be performed in two steps. In the first part we will evaluate the effects of individual AA on transcription factors regulating milk fat synthesis using bovine mammary epithelial cells (Hu et al., 2009) subjected to 11 treatments varying in amino acid profile; and in the second part we will measure de novo fatty acid synthesis in vitro using isotopically labelled acetate as a tracer. Understanding the link between protein and fat synthesis in the mammary gland has practical application in formulating diets to enhance milk fat production.