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Effect of diet and type of pregnancy on plasma metabolic response in sheep and its further effect on lamb performance

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Abstract

This trial evaluated the individual and interactional effects of diet and type of pregnancy (twin or single) on plasma metabolic response in ewes and their lambs from late pre-partum to late post-partum. Thus, a flock of 18 Ile de France breed sheep, consisting of 8 twin-bearing and 10 single-bearing ewes, were allocated to one of two groups according to their diet, either based on ad libitum naturalized pasture hay (NPH) or red clover hay (RCH), from d 45 pre-partum to d 60 post-partum. Plasma samples were collected at different times to determine albumin, cholesterol, total protein and urea, plus glucose and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) concentration in ewes. The data was processed using the lme4 package for R, and SPSS Statistics 23.0 for Windows. The results showed that both diet and type of pregnancy influenced the metabolic profile in ewes, showing an inverse relationship between single- and twin-bearing ewes regarding glucose and especially BHB proportions from pre-partum to birth. During post-partum, higher urea concentrations were observed in twin- and single-bearing ewes fed RCH in contrast to those fed NPH, as a result of the higher-quality forage offered to ewes. Regarding lambs, the diet and type of pregnancy influenced the total protein and urea levels, where an inverse relationship at birth and early post-partum between albumin and cholesterol vs. total protein and urea was detected, reflecting a trend (P value between 0.06 and 0.07) to a better performance by groups of single lambs, especially those from single-bearing ewes fed RCH. Finally, under the conditions of this study, the maternal diet and type of pregnancy influenced the plasma metabolic response in ewes and their lambs, affecting the lamb performance especially at birth.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Dr. Lucía Azócar for her collaboration in this study. This study was financed by FONDECYT grants 3160059 and 1150934, and FONDAP grant 15110027.

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  1. M. A. Gallardo

    Present address: Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, PO Box 8580745, Santiago, Chile

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Bioquímica y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

    J. G. Carcamo, L. Arias-Darraz & M. A. Gallardo

  2. FONDAP Center, Interdisciplinary Center for Aquaculture Research, INCAR, Valdivia, Chile

    J. G. Carcamo & L. Arias-Darraz

  3. Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Mayor, PO Box 8580745, Santiago, Chile

    C. Alvear

  4. Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Unoversidad de Concepción, PO Box 3780000, Chillán, Chile

    P. Williams

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  1. J. G. Carcamo
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The methodology used in this study was approved by the Committee for the Ethical Use of Animals in Experiments of the Universidad Austral de Chile.

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Carcamo, J.G., Arias-Darraz, L., Alvear, C. et al. Effect of diet and type of pregnancy on plasma metabolic response in sheep and its further effect on lamb performance. Trop Anim Health Prod 51, 1943–1952 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-019-01893-3

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