Why some dairy cows are more adaptive [09.01.24]
Dairy cows manifest individual reactions to the physical stressors associated with births, milk production or infections. The study groups led by Professor Korinna Huber and Professor Jana Seifert at the University of Hohenheim, together with their cooperation partners at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute in Braunschweig and the University of Bonn, have set out to elucidate the cause in this WiMiQ collaborative project. They suspect that the key lies in the cell powerhouses, the so-called mitochondria, whose function is, in turn, influenced by intestinal bacteria. The German Research Foundation (DFG) supports the collaborative project with total funding of approximately EUR 1.3 million of which around EUR 650,000 have been attributed to the two Hohenheim study groups.
Dairy cows in a herd react very differently to physical stressors such as the birth of a calf, subsequent milk production or infections. This is because the metabolism in some animals is not able to adapt sufficiently to the changed situation, which often leads to health problems.
The cause of this could have to do with the inner life of the cells, more precisely with the mitochondria. These "cellular powerhouses" use complex chain reactions to convert oxygen and sugar or fatty acids into energy-rich molecules that can be used by the cells for other metabolic processes, such as the production of milk components.
The function of the mitochondria is steered by numerous factors. For example, certain intestinal bacteria have a significant influence on the animals' metabolism. The researchers in the WiMiQ collaborative project are therefore investigating whether and, if so, to what extent the individual colonization of a dairy cow's intestines with certain microorganisms also plays a role in their mitochondrial function and metabolic processes.
It is not only the totality of all microorganisms in and on an animal's body, the microbiome, that influences the animal's state of health. Feed and the (patho)physiological situation of the cows also have an impact on the composition of their microbiome. In dairy cows, the composition and function of the microbiome changes in very challenging phases, such as calving or during illness.
The researchers want to influence the animals' microbiome through significant differences in feed and investigate the metabolic changes that occur in the main tissues. In this way, they hope to identify metabolically efficient animals and then find innovative markers for new concepts in animal breeding for livestock production.
Project details
- Title: Host-microbiome interaction: Implications for cellular and global energy metabolism in dairy cows – WiMiQ
- Funding amount: total EUR 1.3 million, including EUR 650,016 for the University of Hohenheim (EUR 332,816 euros for the Department of Functional Anatomy of Livestock and EUR 317,200 for the Department of Functional Microbiology of Livestock)
- Funding institution: German Research Foundation (DFG)
- Project duration: 1 August 2023 - 31 December 2026
- Participants: Prof. Dr. Korinna Huber, University of Hohenheim, Department of Functional Anatomy of Livestock (overall coordination), Prof. Dr. Jana Seifert, University of Hohenheim, Department of Functional Microbiology of Livestock, Prof. Dr. Helga Sauerwein, Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn, Dr. Jana Frahm, Prof. Dr. Sven Dänicke, Friedrich Loeffler Institute, Braunschweig
Use of animals at the University of Hohenheim
The University of Hohenheim is the first signatory of the nationwide Transparent Animal Experiments Initiative launched in 2021. Knowledge gain and transfer to benefit all living beings and protect our planet will not be possible in the foreseeable future without research and teaching involving animals. Society, legislators and the University of Hohenheim itself apply very strict standards to the way in which these activities are carried out. Back in 2017, the University already adopted guidelines in which it continues to acknowledge the need for animal experiments, but also commits itself to reducing and rendering them less stressful and to providing transparent information about them.
Contact
Prof. Dr. Korinna Huber, University of Hohenheim, Department of Functional Anatomy of Livestock, +49 (0)711 459 23998, korinna.huber@uni-hohenheim.de
Heavyweights of research
The series “Heavyweights of Research" presents outstanding research projects with a financial volume of at least 350,000 euros for research requiring equipment or 150,000 euros for research without specialized equipment.
