Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity

Dairy cattle mobilize skeletal muscle in the periparturient period to close energy and metabolizable protein gaps due to the high demands of the growing fetus and milk production. The objective of this study was to determine if the amount of dam prepartum muscle reserves and branched-chain volatile...

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Main Authors: Linda M. Beckett, Brianna Gast, Evy Tobolski, Lauren Jones, Kyrstin Gouveia, Yu Han-Hallett, Theresa Casey, Jacquelyn P. Boerman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:JDS Communications
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910225000134
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author Linda M. Beckett
Brianna Gast
Evy Tobolski
Lauren Jones
Kyrstin Gouveia
Yu Han-Hallett
Theresa Casey
Jacquelyn P. Boerman
author_facet Linda M. Beckett
Brianna Gast
Evy Tobolski
Lauren Jones
Kyrstin Gouveia
Yu Han-Hallett
Theresa Casey
Jacquelyn P. Boerman
author_sort Linda M. Beckett
collection DOAJ
description Dairy cattle mobilize skeletal muscle in the periparturient period to close energy and metabolizable protein gaps due to the high demands of the growing fetus and milk production. The objective of this study was to determine if the amount of dam prepartum muscle reserves and branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFA) supplementation affected calf birth weight, calf circulating AA, calf semitendinosus muscle metabolic activity, and colostrum composition. We hypothesized that calves born to dams with higher prepartum muscle reserves and supplemented with BCVFA would be heavier, have greater muscle mass as determined by circulating creatinine, and have higher muscle metabolic activity compared with calves born to low-muscle dams not supplemented with BCVFA. At 42 d before expected calving (BEC), the depth of the longissimus dorsi muscle was measured via ultrasound and cows were classified as high muscle (HM; >4.6 cm) or low muscle (LM; ≤4.6 cm) and then randomly assigned to either control (CON) diet, which consisted of soy hulls or calcium salt products of BCVFA that were top dressed from 42 d BEC to parturition. The final study design was a 2 × 2 factorial of muscle reserves and BCVFA supplementation, resulting in LM-CON (n = 8), LM-BCVFA (n = 10), HM-CON (n = 12), and HM-BCVFA (n = 10). Calves were weighed and colostrum was fed to calves at 10% of birth BW and a second dose at 5% of birth BW. At 24 h postnatal, a jugular blood sample and biopsy from the semitendinosus muscle was collected. Metabolic activity of the semitendinosus muscle was measured with a resazurin based assay. Calves born to HM cows were heavier at birth and had higher circulating creatinine and higher muscle metabolic activity, but dam BCVFA supplementation did not affect any of these parameters. Neither maternal muscle reserves nor BCVFA affected calf muscle mTOR abundance or phosphorylation state, although LM-CON calves tended to have lower phosphorylated mTOR than other groups. The greater birth weight, greater circulating creatinine, and higher muscle metabolic activity of calves born to HM cows suggest that maternal muscle reserves influence fetal growth and muscle mass as well as muscle metabolic phenotype.
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spelling doaj-art-54849fd769704f64aad78738ac5b08e42025-08-20T03:11:52ZengElsevierJDS Communications2666-91022025-05-016329329810.3168/jdsc.2024-0581Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activityLinda M. Beckett0Brianna Gast1Evy Tobolski2Lauren Jones3Kyrstin Gouveia4Yu Han-Hallett5Theresa Casey6Jacquelyn P. Boerman7Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Bindley Bioscience Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907; Corresponding authorDairy cattle mobilize skeletal muscle in the periparturient period to close energy and metabolizable protein gaps due to the high demands of the growing fetus and milk production. The objective of this study was to determine if the amount of dam prepartum muscle reserves and branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFA) supplementation affected calf birth weight, calf circulating AA, calf semitendinosus muscle metabolic activity, and colostrum composition. We hypothesized that calves born to dams with higher prepartum muscle reserves and supplemented with BCVFA would be heavier, have greater muscle mass as determined by circulating creatinine, and have higher muscle metabolic activity compared with calves born to low-muscle dams not supplemented with BCVFA. At 42 d before expected calving (BEC), the depth of the longissimus dorsi muscle was measured via ultrasound and cows were classified as high muscle (HM; >4.6 cm) or low muscle (LM; ≤4.6 cm) and then randomly assigned to either control (CON) diet, which consisted of soy hulls or calcium salt products of BCVFA that were top dressed from 42 d BEC to parturition. The final study design was a 2 × 2 factorial of muscle reserves and BCVFA supplementation, resulting in LM-CON (n = 8), LM-BCVFA (n = 10), HM-CON (n = 12), and HM-BCVFA (n = 10). Calves were weighed and colostrum was fed to calves at 10% of birth BW and a second dose at 5% of birth BW. At 24 h postnatal, a jugular blood sample and biopsy from the semitendinosus muscle was collected. Metabolic activity of the semitendinosus muscle was measured with a resazurin based assay. Calves born to HM cows were heavier at birth and had higher circulating creatinine and higher muscle metabolic activity, but dam BCVFA supplementation did not affect any of these parameters. Neither maternal muscle reserves nor BCVFA affected calf muscle mTOR abundance or phosphorylation state, although LM-CON calves tended to have lower phosphorylated mTOR than other groups. The greater birth weight, greater circulating creatinine, and higher muscle metabolic activity of calves born to HM cows suggest that maternal muscle reserves influence fetal growth and muscle mass as well as muscle metabolic phenotype.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910225000134
spellingShingle Linda M. Beckett
Brianna Gast
Evy Tobolski
Lauren Jones
Kyrstin Gouveia
Yu Han-Hallett
Theresa Casey
Jacquelyn P. Boerman
Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
JDS Communications
title Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
title_full Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
title_fullStr Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
title_full_unstemmed Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
title_short Dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched-chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
title_sort dam prepartum skeletal muscle reserves and supplementation with branched chain volatile fatty acids during late gestation influence calf birth weight and calf muscle metabolic activity
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910225000134
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