Nutritional Programming of Puberty PRESENTATION OUTLINE in ... · •4 million replacement beef heifers enter the U.S. cow herd annually •Lifetime productivity is heavily-dependent

Rodolfo Cardoso, Texas A&M University Aug. 29, 2018

ARSBC 2018, Ruidoso, N.M. 1

Nutritional Programming of Puberty in Bos indicus-influenced Heifers

Rodolfo C. Cardoso, D.V.M., Ph.D.Assistant Professor

Department of Animal Science

ARSBC Symposium, Ruidoso, NM - 2018

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

• Importance of timing puberty in replacement heifers

• B. taurus vs. B. indicus (Brahman)-influenced

• Nutritional programming of puberty -- Hormones and Neuroendocrine Mechanisms-- Timing (Stair-Step Approach)-- Dietary Energy Source-- Interaction of pre-and postnatal nutrition on pubertal programming

• 4 million replacement beef heifers enter the U.S. cow herd annually

• Lifetime productivity is heavily-dependent upon heifer’s ability to reach early sexual maturation (GOAL: 1st calf as 2-year-olds)

• Conceiving during the first 21 days of the breeding season as a yearling increases the probability of continued early calving and long-term retention in the herd

• Multiple estrous cycles before targeted first breeding positively influences fertility

• Cows must wean 3 to 5 calves to pay for the cost of their own development; thus longevity is extremely important

IMPORTANCE OF THE TIMING OFPUBERTAL ONSET IN HEIFERS

MATURATION OF THE REPRODUCTIVE NEUROENDOCRINE AXIS

SECRETION OF GONADOTROPINS

OVARIAN STIMULATION(Follicular Development/Estrous Behavior)

UTERINE DEVELOPMENT AND OVULATION(Tract Score)

SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING TO PUBERTY

ABILITY TO BECOME PREGNANT

• Genetics (Breed Type/Mature Body Weight)

• Pre- and Post-Weaning Nutrition

• Critical Body Weight/Adiposity/Nutritional imprinting

MAIN FACTORS AFFECTING SEXUAL MATURATION IN

THE HEIFER

GENETICS



NUTRITIONAL PROGRAMMING OFPUBERTY IN HEIFERS

Nutritional Programming

Jersey-Brown-Swiss-Angus-Hereford-Simmental-Limousine-Charolais-Brahman

8 10 12 14 16 18 20

B

Wean or Purchase

60-75 dayBreeding Season

Pubertal Onset

0 9 12 14 16 Age (mo)Feb Nov. April

Pubertal Onset

600 lb 0.4 lb ADG 660 lb (55% MBW) 600 lb 1.2 lb ADG 780 lb (65% MBW)

Birth

600 lb Nutritionally-Programmed 780 lb (65% MBW)

Pubertal Onset

1200-LB MATURE COWS

600

650

700

750

800

Nov De c Ja n F eb Ma r Apr

BW

(lb)

WeaningBreeding Season

Nutritional Programming of Puberty in Beef Heifers

• The goal of nutritional programming is to create a metabolic imprint during the early juvenile period at the hypothalamic level that results in an accelerated timing of puberty

BW

, kg

Lep

tin,

ng/

ml

-17 to

-16

-13 to

-12

-9 to

-8

-5 to

–4

-1 to

0

275

300

325

350

375

Pooled SEM:12.1

3

4

5

6

Pooled SEM:0.4

Weeks relative to puberty Garcia at al., 2002

Leptin and Puberty in Heifers

• Appetite and satiety

• Neurite outgrowth

• GnRH secretion

• Permissive facilitator of puberty

1 00

1 20

1 40

1 60

1 80

2 00

2 20

2 40

2 60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4

Body

Wei

ght (

kg)

Week of Experiment

HF-LG HC-HG

Body Weight and Average Daily Gain

** P < 0.0001

Allen et al., J. Anim. Sci. 2012

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

Prop

iona

te:A

ceta

te

HF-LG HC-HG

**

Circulating Insulin, IGF-1 and Leptin

0

0 .2

0 .4

0 .6

0 .8

1

1 .2

1 .4

Insu

lin (n

g/m

l)

HF-LG HC-HG0

2 0

4 0

6 0

8 0

1 00

1 20

1 40

IGF-

1 (n

g/m

l)

HF-LG HC-HG

**

0

0 .5

1

1 .5

2

2 .5

3

3 .5

4

4 .5

Lept

in (n

g/m

l)

HF-LG HC-HG

***

*** P = 0.001** P < 0.002* P < 0.05

*




100

200

300

400

Age (mo)4 146 10 128

Period IVNutritional Programming

Period I Period II Period IIIPubertal Onset

BW (K

g)

Pube

rty

(%)

100

50

0

HG

L

G

Puberty attainment

HG: ADG = 1 Kg/dayLG: ADG = 0.5 Kg/day

• When does the metabolic programming for early puberty occur?

• Can we nutritionally alter the timing of puberty while optimizing other aspects of growth and development?

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36

Lept

in (n

g/m

l)

Time (Wk)

LGH GSS-1SS-2

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

4 6.5 9 11. 5 14

BW, k

g

Age, mo

LGH GSS-1SS-2

Nutritional Model Circulating Leptin

Arrows: Diet transition

Stair-Step Nutritional Regimen

Arrows: Diet transition

Cardoso et al., 2014, J. Anim. Sci.

a

c cb

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

16 20 24 28 32 36 40

Heife

rs p

uber

tal (

%)

Time (Wk)

LCHCSS-1SS-2

Stair-Step Nutritional Regimen Programs the Onset of Puberty in Beef Heifers

Cardoso et al., 2014, J. Anim. Sci.

8 mo 9 mo 10 mo 11 mo 12 mo 13 moAge

Optimal TimingLG

HG

SS1 results in ~ 7% overall savings in feed costs during the development period.


• Dietary Energy Source

0

0. 25

0. 5

0. 75

1

Aver

age

Dai

ly G

ain

(kg/

d)

a a

b

b

HF-LG HC-LG HF-HG HC-HG

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Bod

y w

eigh

t (kg

)

Mean age (wk)

LG HG

***

***

****

*P < 0.02 **P < 0.004; ***P < 0.0007; ****P < 0.0001 a,b P < 0.004


BODY WEIGHTS AND ADG OF HEIFERS FED AT A LOW OR HIGH RATE OF GAIN

USING TWO DIETARY ENERGY SOURCES

Switch to PubertyCommon Diet

ng/m

l

2.0 lb/day ADG 1.3 lb/day ADG





• Interaction of pre-and postnatal nutrition on pubertal programming

ROLE OF MATERNAL NUTRITIONAL STATUS?

7.5 - 8

5 - 5.5

3

BW (l

b)Bo

dy C

ondi

tion

Scor

e

Weeks

*

Low Gain and High Gain Heifers

RESULTS TO DATE

• Changes in circulating concentrations of leptin (dams)

• An increase in the number of GnRH neurons in close apposition to NPY neurons due to low maternal BCS

• A reduction in expression of genes involved in leptin transport across the blood-brain barrier

¤ Hormonal and neuroendocrine alterations suggest that low maternal BCS may result in delayed puberty in the heifer offspring (to be confirmed)

¤ These neuroendocrine alterations can have long-term negative effects on reproduction (to be confirmed)

• Nutritional acceleration of puberty is associated with key alterations in the neuroendocrine system of heifers

• Neural plasticity associated with the juvenile period (4 to 8 mo of age), provides for opportunities to nutritionally-modulate age at puberty

• Managerial approaches that use a stair-step feeding regimen can exploit important efficiencies for growth, mammary development and timing of puberty

• Prenatal perturbations in metabolic/nutritional status are likely to delay puberty in heifers and have long-term detrimental effects on reproduction

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS



SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

“Puberty occurs when heifers reach about 65% of their mature weight”

however…WHO? (Genetics)• Bos taurus vs. Bos indicus-influenced

WHEN? (Timing of BW gain)• Early development vs. late development

HOW? (Dietary Energy Source)• High-Concentrate vs. High-Forage

WHAT? (Prenatal Environment – Fetal Programming)• Adequate vs. Inadequate Maternal Nutrition

AcknowledgementsTexas A&M University• Dr. Gary Williams• Dr. Marcel Amstalden (1970-2014)• Dr. Tom Welsh• Dr. Carey Satterfield• Dr. Luis Tedeschi• Meaghan O’Neil• Sarah West• Emma Britain Caraway • Youwen Zhang• Carolyn Spencer• Dorota Zieba• Michelle Garcia• Marlon Maciel

[email protected]

University of Nevada – Reno• Dr. Bruna Alves

North Dakota State University• Dr. Chung Park

Funding

Nutritional Programming of Puberty PRESENTATION OUTLINE in ... · •4 million replacement beef heifers enter the U.S. cow herd annually •Lifetime productivity is heavily-dependent

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