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. 2022 Aug 21;12(16):2145.
doi: 10.3390/ani12162145.

The Effects of Prenatal Diet on Calf Performance and Perspectives for Fetal Programming Studies: A Meta-Analytical Investigation

Sandra de Sousa Barcelos  1 , Karolina Batista Nascimento  2 , Tadeu Eder da Silva  3 , Rafael Mezzomo  1 , Kaliandra Souza Alves  1 , Márcio de Souza Duarte  4 , Mateus Pies Gionbelli  2
Affiliations

The Effects of Prenatal Diet on Calf Performance and Perspectives for Fetal Programming Studies: A Meta-Analytical Investigation

Sandra de Sousa Barcelos et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

This meta-analysis aimed to identify knowledge gaps in the scientific literature on future fetal-programming studies and to investigate the factors that determine the performance of beef cows and their offspring. A dataset composed of 35 publications was used. The prenatal diet, body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) during pregnancy, and calf sex were elicited as possible modulators of the beef cows and their offspring performance. Then, the correlations between these variables and the outcomes of interest were investigated. A mixed multiple linear regression procedure was used to evaluate the relationships between the responses and all the possible explanatory variables. A knowledge gap was observed in studies focused on zebu animals, with respect to the offspring sex and the consequences of prenatal nutrition in early pregnancy. The absence of studies considering the possible effects promoted by the interactions between the different stressors' sources during pregnancy was also detected. A regression analysis showed that prenatal diets with higher levels of protein improved the ADG of pregnant beef cows and that heavier cows give birth to heavier calves. Variations in the BW at weaning were related to the BW at birth and calf sex. Therefore, this research reinforces the importance of monitoring the prenatal nutrition of beef cows.

Keywords: fetal programming; maternal nutrition; protein requirements; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow chart of literature research and study selection process at different stages of the review process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of gestation period and breeds for all publications that composed the dataset to perform this meta-analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Main diagonal: densities of all continuous variables from the dataset (BBW = birth body weight, kg; CADG = cow average daily gain, kg/d; CBW = cow body weight, kg; WW210 = weaning weight adjusted to 210 d, kg; CCADG = average daily gain cow-calf phase, kg/d; MPSup = metabolizable protein supply, %; MESup = metabolizable energy supply, %). Values above the main diagonal: Pearson correlation coefficients among the variables used, where * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, and *** = p < 0.001. Scatter plots below main diagonal: graphical representation of relationships among all variables.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Effect of levels of supplying both energy and protein requirements of a 500 kg cow from mid- to-late gestation on calving birth weight.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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