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da Silva CS, Leão JM, Lage CFA, Coelho SG, Campos MM. Residual Feed Intake as an Efficiency Metric for Pre-Weaning Dairy Calves: What Do We Know? Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1727. [PMID: 37629582 PMCID: PMC10455359 DOI: 10.3390/life13081727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Dairy cattle systems have targeted improvements in feed efficiency by selecting animals that can convert less feed into more products. Residual feed intake (RFI) has been the index of choice when selecting dairy cattle for feed efficiency. Nonetheless, RFI studies have focused on lactating cows, and the crucial importance of pre-weaning efficiency on farm profitability and cow productivity has been mostly neglected. This review discusses the current knowledge of how RFI divergence relates to nutrient metabolism in pre-weaning dairy calves, including the advantages and limitations of evaluating RFI in this phase. Existing literature indicates that nutrient utilization, energy metabolism, protein metabolism, vitamin metabolism, intestinal development, and hindgut bacterial populations may be implicated in RFI divergence between pre-weaning calves. Techniques developed to date to evaluate RFI in this phase are still evolving to better adapt to the unique characteristics of this phase, and more research is needed to fill in the gaps in our current understanding of early-life feed efficiency divergence in cattle. However, current results suggest great potential for selecting high-efficiency calves while in pre-weaning to accelerate the progress of genetic selection in dairy cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camila S. da Silva
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, Minas Gerais, Brazil;
| | - Juliana M. Leão
- The Saskatoon Colostrum Company, Ltd., Saskatoon, SK S7K 6A2, Canada;
| | | | - Sandra G. Coelho
- Department of Animal Science, School of Veterinary Medicine, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 30161-970, Minas Gerais, Brazil;
| | - Mariana M. Campos
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora 36038-330, Minas Gerais, Brazil;
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Fregulia P, Campos MM, Dias RJP, Liu J, Guo W, Pereira LGR, Machado MA, Faza DRDLR, Guan LL, Garnsworthy PC, Neves ALA. Taxonomic and predicted functional signatures reveal linkages between the rumen microbiota and feed efficiency in dairy cattle raised in tropical areas. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1025173. [PMID: 36523842 PMCID: PMC9745175 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1025173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Ruminants digest plant biomass more efficiently than monogastric animals due to their symbiotic relationship with a complex microbiota residing in the rumen environment. What remains unclear is the relationship between the rumen microbial taxonomic and functional composition and feed efficiency (FE), especially in crossbred dairy cattle (Holstein x Gyr) raised under tropical conditions. In this study, we selected twenty-two F1 Holstein x Gyr heifers and grouped them according to their residual feed intake (RFI) ranking, high efficiency (HE) (n = 11) and low efficiency (LE) (n = 11), to investigate the effect of FE on the rumen microbial taxa and their functions. Rumen fluids were collected using a stomach tube apparatus and analyzed using amplicon sequencing targeting the 16S (bacteria and archaea) and 18S (protozoa) rRNA genes. Alpha-diversity and beta-diversity analysis revealed no significant difference in the rumen microbiota between the HE and LE animals. Multivariate analysis (sPLS-DA) showed a clear separation of two clusters in bacterial taxonomic profiles related to each FE group, but in archaeal and protozoal profiles, the clusters overlapped. The sPLS-DA also revealed a clear separation in functional profiles for bacteria, archaea, and protozoa between the HE and LE animals. Microbial taxa were differently related to HE (e.g., Howardella and Shuttleworthia) and LE animals (e.g., Eremoplastron and Methanobrevibacter), and predicted functions were significatively different for each FE group (e.g., K03395-signaling and cellular process was strongly related to HE animals, and K13643-genetic information processing was related to LE animals). This study demonstrates that differences in the rumen microbiome relative to FE ranking are not directly observed from diversity indices (Faith's Phylogenetic Diversity, Pielou's Evenness, Shannon's diversity, weighted UniFrac distance, Jaccard index, and Bray-Curtis dissimilarity), but from targeted identification of specific taxa and microbial functions characterizing each FE group. These results shed light on the role of rumen microbial taxonomic and functional profiles in crossbred Holstein × Gyr dairy cattle raised in tropical conditions, creating the possibility of using the microbial signature of the HE group as a biological tool for the development of biomarkers that improve FE in ruminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priscila Fregulia
- Laboratório de Protozoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação da Natureza, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Mariana Magalhães Campos
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA), National Center for Research on Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Roberto Júnio Pedroso Dias
- Laboratório de Protozoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade e Conservação da Natureza, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Junhong Liu
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Wei Guo
- Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction in the Plateau Mountainous Region, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
| | - Luiz Gustavo Ribeiro Pereira
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA), National Center for Research on Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Marco Antônio Machado
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA), National Center for Research on Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Daniele Ribeiro de Lima Reis Faza
- Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, EMBRAPA), National Center for Research on Dairy Cattle, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Le Luo Guan
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Phil C. Garnsworthy
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - André Luis Alves Neves
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
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Evaluation of Ingestive Behavior, Ruminal and Blood Parameters, Performance, and Thermography as a Phenotypic Divergence Markers of Residual Feed Intake in Rearing Dairy Heifers. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12030331. [PMID: 35158653 PMCID: PMC8833763 DOI: 10.3390/ani12030331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The selection of highly efficient animals will support meeting the world’s future demand for products and food of animal origin. Thus, the identification of efficient animals and an understanding of the mechanisms inherent to this efficiency is fundamental for the progress of breeding systems. In the present study, we identify highly efficient animals for residual feed intake in dairy heifers. This animal category is unexplored in relation to this index. We utilized the classical parameters evaluated in cattle of different ages to carry out the study on these animals. Abstract The objectives of this study were: (1) to identify and rank phenotypically divergent animals for residual feed intake (RFI) regarding their efficiency (high: HE or low: LE); (2) to evaluate their relationships with ingestive behavior, ruminal and blood parameters, performance, and infrared thermography; and (3) to determine if such measurements can be used as feed efficiency markers in rearing dairy heifers. Thirty-eight heifers, 143 d ± 4 (Mean ± SD) of age and 108.7 kg ± 17.9 of body weight were used. The animals were fed with a total mixed ration during the 91 d of the trial. A phenotypic divergence of DMI for RFI was observed between −0.358 and 0.337 kg/d for HE and LE, respectively. Dry matter intake (DMI) was lower in the HE (2.5 kg DMI/d vs. 3.1 kg DMI/d), as was the number of visits to the feed bin with consumption (59 vs. 71). Feed intake was the best predictor of said divergence. Water intake and number of visits to the feed bin were presented moderate correlations with RFI. The ruminal fermentation variables, blood metabolites, blood hormones (such as the other ingestive behavior variables), and infrared thermography were not able to accurately predict HE or LE animals.
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Common and diet-specific metabolic pathways underlying residual feed intake in fattening Charolais yearling bulls. Sci Rep 2021; 11:24346. [PMID: 34934071 PMCID: PMC8692463 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03678-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Residual feed intake (RFI) is one of the preferred traits for feed efficiency animal breeding. However, RFI measurement is expensive and time-consuming and animal ranking may depend on the nature of the diets. We aimed to explore RFI plasma biomarkers and to unravel the underlying metabolic pathways in yearling bulls fed either a corn-silage diet rich in starch (corn diet) or a grass-silage diet rich in fiber (grass diet). Forty-eight extreme RFI animals (Low-RFI, n = 24, versus High-RFI, n = 24, balanced per diet) were selected from a population of 364 Charolais bulls and their plasma was subjected to a targeted LC-MS metabolomic approach together with classical metabolite and hormonal plasma analyses. Greater lean body mass and nitrogen use efficiency, and lower protein turnover were identified as common mechanisms underlying RFI irrespective of the diet. On the other hand, greater adiposity and plasma concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) together with lower insulin sensitivity in High-RFI animals were only observed with corn diet. Conversely, greater plasma concentrations of BCAA and total triglycerides, but similar insulin concentrations were noted in efficient RFI cattle with grass diet. Our data suggest that there are diet-specific mechanisms explaining RFI differences in fattening Charolais yearling bulls.
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Guarnido-Lopez P, Ortigues-Marty I, Taussat S, Fossaert C, Renand G, Cantalapiedra-Hijar G. Plasma proteins δ 15N vs plasma urea as candidate biomarkers of between-animal variations of feed efficiency in beef cattle: Phenotypic and genetic evaluation. Animal 2021; 15:100318. [PMID: 34311194 DOI: 10.1016/j.animal.2021.100318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying animals that are superior in terms of feed efficiency may improve the profitability and sustainability of the beef cattle sector. However, measuring feed efficiency is costly and time-consuming. Biomarkers should thus be explored and validated to predict between-animal variation of feed efficiency for both genetic selection and precision feeding. In this work, we aimed to assess and validate two previously identified biomarkers of nitrogen (N) use efficiency in ruminants, plasma urea concentrations and the 15N natural abundance in plasma proteins (plasma δ15N), to predict the between-animal variation in feed efficiency when animals were fed two contrasted diets (high-starch vs high-fibre diets). We used an experimental network design with a total of 588 young bulls tested for feed efficiency through two different traits (feed conversion efficiency [FCE] and residual feed intake [RFI]) during at least 6 months in 12 cohorts (farm × period combination). Animals reared in the same cohort, receiving the same diet and housed in the same pen, were considered as a contemporary group (CG). To analyse between-animal variations and explore relationships between biomarkers and feed efficiency, two statistical approaches, based either on mixed-effect models or regressions from residuals, were conducted to remove the between-CG variability. Between-animal variation of plasma δ15N was significantly correlated with feed efficiency measured through the two criteria traits and regardless of the statistical approach. Conversely, plasma urea was not correlated to FCE and showed only a weak, although significant, correlation with RFI. The response of plasma δ15N to FCE variations was higher when animals were fed a high-starch compared to a high-fibre diet. In addition, we identified two dietary factors, the metabolisable protein to net energy ratio and the rumen protein balance that influenced the relation between plasma δ15N and FCE variations. Concerning the genetic evaluation, and despite the moderate heritability of the two biomarkers (0.28), the size of our experimental setup was insufficient to detect significant genetic correlations between feed efficiency and the biomarkers. However, we validated the potential of plasma δ15N to phenotypically discriminate two animals reared in identical conditions in terms of feed efficiency as long as they differ by at least 0.049 g/g for FCE and 1.67 kg/d for RFI. Altogether, the study showed phenotypic, but non-genetic, relationships between plasma proteins δ15N and feed efficiency that varied according to the efficiency index and the diet utilised.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Guarnido-Lopez
- INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
| | - I Ortigues-Marty
- INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France
| | - S Taussat
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - C Fossaert
- Institut de l'élevage, 75595 Paris, France
| | - G Renand
- Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, UMR Génétique Animale et Biologie Intégrative, 78350 Jouy-en-Josas, France
| | - G Cantalapiedra-Hijar
- INRAE, VetAgro Sup, UMR Herbivores, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63122 Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France.
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