Plane of nutrition prepartum alters hepatic gene expression and function in dairy cows as assessed by longitudinal transcript and metabolic profiling.

Liver metabolism and health in dairy cows during the periparturient period are affected by plane of nutrition prepartum. Long-term adaptations in hepatic gene expression are important for complete understanding of liver function. We examined temporal gene expression profiles during the dry period and early lactation in liver of Holstein cows fed moderate dietary energy ad libitum or restricted during the entire dry period using a microarray consisting of 7,872 annotated cattle cDNA inserts and quantitative RT-PCR.

Temporal gene expression profiling of liver from periparturient dairy cows reveals complex adaptive mechanisms in hepatic function.

Long-term molecular adaptations in liver from high-producing dairy cows are virtually unknown. Liver from five Holstein cows was biopsied at -65, -30, -14, +1, +14, +28, and +49 days relative to parturition for transcript profiling using a microarray consisting of 7,872 annotated cattle cDNA inserts. More than 5,000 cDNA elements represented on the microarray were expressed in liver.