Exploring Biological Impacts of Prenatal Nutrition and Selection for Residual Feed Intake on Beef Cattle Using Omics Technologies: A Review.
Citation
Foroutan A, Wishart DS, & Fitzsimmons C. (2021) Exploring Biological Impacts of Prenatal Nutrition and Selection for Residual Feed Intake on Beef Cattle Using Omics Technologies: A Review. Accepted in Frontiers in Genetics, October 2021. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.720268
Plain language summary
Approximately 70% of the cost of beef production is impacted by dietary intake. Maximizing production efficiency of beef cattle requires not only genetic selection to maximize feed efficiency (i.e., residual feed intake (RFI)), but also adequate nutrition throughout all stages of growth and development to maximize efficiency of growth and reproductive capacity, even during pregnancy. RFI as a measure of feed efficiency in cattle
has been recently accepted and used in the beef industry, but the effect of selection for RFI upon the dynamics of pregnancy has not been extensively studied, especially in the context of fluctuating energy supply to the
dam and fetus. Nutrient restriction during pregnancy has been shown to negatively affect postnatal growth and development as well as fertility of beef cattle. This, when combined with the genetic potential for RFI, may
significantly affect energy supply to the offspring and subsequently important performance traits. Therefore, it is important to investigate the intersection of selection for RFI, and exposure to differences in prenatal diet, to ensure that selection for RFI does not harbor any negative consequences for beef producers. In this review, we discuss: 1) the importance of RFI as a measure of feed efficiency and how it can affect other economic traits in beef cattle; 2) the influence of prenatal nutrition on physiology of calves; 3) the benefits of investigating the interaction of genetic selection for RFI and prenatal nutrition; 4) how genomics tools have been employed to investigate the underlying biology associated with prenatal nutrition, RFI, or their interactions in beef cattle; and 5) how genomics information is adding a level of deeper understanding of the genetic control of performance traits in cattle.
Abstract
Approximately 70% of the cost of beef production is impacted by dietary intake.
Maximizing production efficiency of beef cattle requires not only genetic selection to
maximize feed efficiency (i.e., residual feed intake (RFI)), but also adequate nutrition
throughout all stages of growth and development to maximize efficiency of growth and
reproductive capacity, even during gestation. RFI as a measure of feed efficiency in cattle
has been recently accepted and used in the beef industry, but the effect of selection for RFI
upon the dynamics of gestation has not been extensively studied, especially in the context
of fluctuating energy supply to the dam and fetus. Nutrient restriction during gestation has
been shown to negatively affect postnatal growth and development as well as fertility of
beef cattle offspring. This, when combined with the genetic potential for RFI, may
significantly affect energy partitioning in the offspring and subsequently important
performance traits. In this review, we discuss: 1) the importance of RFI as a measure
of feed efficiency and how it can affect other economic traits in beef cattle; 2) the influence
of prenatal nutrition on physiological phenotypes in calves; 3) the benefits of investigating
the interaction of genetic selection for RFI and prenatal nutrition; 4) how metabolomics,
transcriptomics, and epigenomics have been employed to investigate the underlying
biology associated with prenatal nutrition, RFI, or their interactions in beef cattle; and 5)
how the integration of omics information is adding a level of deeper understanding of the
genetic architecture of phenotypic traits in cattle.