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ARS Home » Plains Area » Clay Center, Nebraska » U.S. Meat Animal Research Center » Nutrition, Growth and Physiology » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413270
Research Project: Optimizing Nutrient Management and Efficiency of Beef Cattle and Swine

Location: Nutrition, Growth and Physiology

Title: Paternal nutrient supply: Impacts on physiological and whole animal outcomes in offspring

Author
item DAHLEN, CARL - North Dakota State University
item BOCHANTIN-WINDERS, KERRI - North Dakota State University
item RAMIREZ-ZAMUDIO, GERMAN - North Dakota State University
item Crouse, Matthew
item MCLEAN, KYLE - University Of Tennessee
item DINIZ, WELLISON - Auburn University
item AMAT, SAMAT - North Dakota State University
item Snider, Alexandria
item CATON, JOEL - North Dakota State University
item REYNOLDS, LAWRENCE P - North Dakota State University

Submitted to: Ruminant Physiology International Symposium Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2024
Publication Date: 8/1/2024
Citation: Dahlen, C.R., Bochantin-Winders, K.A., Ramirez-Zamudio, G.D., Crouse, M.S., McLean, K.J., Diniz, W.J., Amat, S., Snider, A.P., Caton, J.S., Reynolds, L. 2024. Paternal nutrient supply: Impacts on physiological and whole animal outcomes in offspring [abstract]. Ruminant Physiology International Symposium Proceedings. Abstract Program p. 11. Available: https://www.isrp2024.org/docs/ISRP2024_Abstracts.pdf?v=20240905.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that environmental factors regarding sires can be transmitted through the ejaculate into the female reproductive tract, influencing fertilization, embryo development, and postnatal offspring outcomes. This concept is termed paternal programming, and in rodent models, it has been shown that nutrition can implicitly alter offspring outcomes through sperm epigenetic signatures, DNA damage/oxidative stress, cytokine profiles, and the seminal microbiome. In ruminants, dietary ingredients prompt programmed responses, such as supplementing bulls with omega 3 fatty acids, impacting blastocyst development and transcript abundance. Feeding bulls high grain diets reduced the proportion of IVF embryos growing to the blastocysts stage, and feeding rumen-protected methionine to breeding rams during the prepubertal period influenced sperm DNA methylation and performance characteristics all the way to the F3 generation. Global undernutrition or excess in bulls led to changes in sperm morphology, differential expression of mRNA and miRNA, and cytokine profiles, which could subsequently alter the uterine environment, immune response to mating, and embryo growth. Divergent planes of nutrition in breeding rams influenced body weight and morphometric characteristics of the offspring at birth that persisted into the post-natal development period of the lambs, affecting growth rate and feed intake. Interestingly, sire nutrition also resulted in alterations in concentrations of IGF-1 and insulin in response to a glucose challenge. The field of animal science is on the precipice of understanding the paternal contribution to developmental programming in livestock species. Current models are in place to address critical questions such as whether and the extent to which paternal programming effects are present within the bounds of common management scenarios, and whether effects of paternal nutrition interact with effects of maternal nutrition to influence offspring physiology, whole animal outcomes, and herd or flock productivity.