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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Booneville, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202486
Title: Relationship of lactate dehydrogenase activity to body measurements of Angus x Charolais cows and calves

Author
item Looper, Michael
item NEIDECKER, T - NEIDECKER FARMS
item WALL, C - UACES
item REITER, S - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item FLORES, R - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item BROWN, JR, A - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item JOHNSON, Z - UNIV OF ARKANSAS
item ROSENKRANS, JR, C - UNIV OF ARKANSAS

Submitted to: American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/30/2006
Publication Date: 2/3/2007
Citation: Looper, M.L., Neidecker, T.P., Wall, C.W., Reiter, S.T., Flores, R., Brown, Jr, A.H., Johnson, Z.B., Rosenkrans, Jr, C.F. 2007. Relationship of lactate dehydrogenase activity to body measurements of Angus x Charolais cows and calves. American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting. 85(Suppl. 2):29.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Objectives were to examine 1) relationships between lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and body measurements of grazing beef cows, and 2) the association between maternal LDH activity in late gestation and subsequent calf birth weight (BRW), hip height (HH) at weaning, and adjusted weaning weight (WW). At 60 d prepartum (mean calving date = Jan 29), BW, BCS, and cow HH (CHH) were recorded, and longissimus muscle area (LMA), intramuscular fat percentage (IMF), and rib fat (RF) were measured via ultrasonography from Angus x Charolais cows (n = 88; mean age = 5.1 ± 2.6 y). A blood serum sample was collected from each cow and LDH activity was determined and ranked (mean ± 1 SD) into three categories. Prepartum forward LDH activity was correlated with cow BCS (r = 0.21; P = 0.09). Cows with low reverse LDH activity had calves with increased (P < 0.05) HH and WW compared with cows with high LDH activity. Reverse LDH activity was inversely correlated with HH (r = - 0.28; P = 0.01) and WW (r = - 0.21; P = 0.05) of calves. Cow LMA was correlated (P < 0.05) with BW (r = 0.37), BCS (r = 0.39), and CHH (r = 0.25), and with WW of calves (r = 0.28; P = 0.01). First canonical correlation between cow forward and reverse LDH activity, and calf HH and WW tended to be significant (r = 0.30; P = 0.08). A linear combination of cow LMA and reverse LDH activity were correlated (P < 0.01) to a linear combination of calf WW and HH (r = 0.38). Decreased reverse LDH activity in prepartum cows was associated with taller and heavier calves at weaning; increased weaning weights will enhance profitability of cow-calf operations.