Abstract
BackgroundMaternal nutrition has been highlighted as one of the main factors affecting intra-uterine environment. The increase in nutritional requirements by beef cows during late gestation can cause nutritional deficiency in the fetus and impact the fetal regulation of genes associated with myogenesis and immune response.MethodsForty days before the expected calving date, cows were assigned to one of two diets: 100% (control) or 70% (restricted group) of the daily energy requirement. Muscle samples were collected from 12 heifers and 12 steers, and blood samples were collected from 12 steers. The objective of this work was to identify and to assess the biological relevance of differentially expressed genes (DEG) in the skeletal muscle and blood of beef calves born from cows that experienced [or not] a 30% energy restriction during the last 40 days of gestation.ResultsA total of 160, 164, and 346 DEG (q-value< 0.05) were identified in the skeletal muscle for the effects of diet, sex, and diet-by-sex interaction, respectively. For blood, 452, 1392, and 155 DEG were identified for the effects of diet, time, and diet-by-time interaction, respectively. For skeletal muscle, results based on diet identified genes involved in muscle metabolism. In muscle, from the 10 most DEG down-regulated in the energy-restricted group (REST), we identified 5 genes associated with muscle metabolism and development: SLCO3A1, ATP6V0D1, SLC2A1, GPC4, and RASD2. In blood, among the 10 most DEG, we found genes related to response to stress up-regulated in the REST after weaning, such as SOD3 and INO80D, and to immune response down-regulated in the REST after vaccination, such as OASL, KLRF1, and LOC104968634.ConclusionIn conclusion, maternal energy restriction during late gestation may limit the expression of genes in the muscle and increase expression in the blood of calves. In addition, enrichment analysis showed that a short-term maternal energy restriction during pregnancy affects the expression of genes related to energy metabolism and muscle contraction, and immunity and stress response in the blood. Therefore, alterations in the intra-uterine environment can modify prenatal development with lasting consequences to adult life.
Highlights
Maternal nutrition has been highlighted as one of the main factors affecting intra-uterine environment
Our study focused on the effect of maternal energy restriction during late gestation on the transcriptomic profile in the skeletal muscle and blood tissues in the offspring
From the 10 most down-regulated genes in restricted group (REST), we identified 5 genes associated with muscle metabolism and development as well as with energy metabolism: (1) SLCO3A1, a membrane transporter of the thyroid hormone involved in satellite cell differentiation [37]; (2) ATP6V0D1, involved in oxidative phosphorylation [38]; (3) SLC2A1, a facilitator of glucose transport; (4) Glypican 4 (GPC4), involved in cell proliferation [39]; and (5) RASDfamily member 2 (RASD2), expressed in satellite cells and involved in cellular
Summary
Maternal nutrition has been highlighted as one of the main factors affecting intra-uterine environment. The increase in nutritional requirements by beef cows during late gestation can cause nutritional deficiency in the fetus and impact the fetal regulation of genes associated with myogenesis and immune response. There is an increase in nutritional requirements of beef cows during late gestation [2], and if not met, the limited amount of nutrients available for optimum fetal development may affect prenatal physiological functions and, result in impaired post-natal growth and performance of the offspring [3, 4]. Prenatal programming of physiological systems can alter the growth and the function of organs and pathology into adulthood [6]. Nutritional deficiency may impact the regulation of genes associated with myogenesis and immune response in the fetus, which can have long-term effects on progeny performance [3]
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