Journal article
Mitochondrial protein gene expression and the oxidative phosphorylation pathway associated with feed efficiency and energy balance in dairy cattle
Jigme Dorji, Iona M MacLeod, Amanda J Chamberlain, Christy J Vander Jagt, Phuong N Ho, Majid Khansefid, Brett A Mason, Claire P Prowse-Wilkins, Leah C Marett, William J Wales, Benjamin G Cocks, Jennie E Pryce, Hans D Daetwyler
Journal of Dairy Science | ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC | Published : 2021
Abstract
Feed efficiency and energy balance are important traits underpinning profitability and environmental sustainability in animal production. They are complex traits, and our understanding of their underlying biology is currently limited. One measure of feed efficiency is residual feed intake (RFI), which is the difference between actual and predicted intake. Variation in RFI among individuals is attributable to the metabolic efficiency of energy utilization. High RFI (H_RFI) animals require more energy per unit of weight gain or milk produced compared with low RFI (L_RFI) animals. Energy balance (EB) is a closely related trait calculated very similarly to RFI. Cellular energy metabolism in mito..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors thank the DairyBio program (a joint venture between Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia, and the Gardiner Foundation, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) for funding. J. D. receives a La Trobe University fee remission scholarship (Bundoora, Australia). The authors are grateful to the staff of Agriculture Victoria at the Ellinbank and Bundoora sites, who were involved in sample collection and animal husbandry. The funding agencies did not have influence on the findings of the study, and the authors have no conflict of interest.