154 Early metabolic reading of calf fitness in the embryo and the recipient
I. Gimeno A , P. García-Manrique B , J. Gatien C , S. Carrocera A , F. Goyache A , M. Berdasco D , P. Salvetti C and E. Gomez AA SERIDA, Gijon, Spain
B University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
C ALLICE, Nouzilly, France
D Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 34(2) 315-315 https://doi.org/10.1071/RDv34n2Ab154
Published: 7 December 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the IETS
Early in development, metabolites in the embryo culture medium (CM) and recipient blood may influence birth to term; thus, traits of the calf may be retrospectively associated with the embryo and recipient metabolome. We investigated such metabolomic contributions to calf fitness. Oocytes were in vitro fertilised and embryos cultured in synthetic oviduct fluid with amino acids, citrate, and myo-inositol (SOFaaci) in groups with and without fetal calf serum until Day−6, and then singly for 24 h without protein. Calves were born from fresh (N = 12) and frozen (N = 23) transferred embryos. Metabolites were previously identified in CM by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectroscopy (UHPLC-MS/MS; N = 37), and in recipient plasma by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (N = 35). Thirteen calf clinical and morphological signs and 18 analytes (Vetscan i-STAT One analyser) were measured at birth, before and after colostrum intake. Feature values from calf, recipient, and CM were processed together by principal component (PC) analysis to identify covariates. The effects modulating each PC (colostrum intake; embryo freezing; FCS in culture; recipient, bull and calf breed; calf sex and embryonic stage) were calculated with a GLM model. Log-transformed covariates were analysed in debiased sparse partial correlation networks within each PC. Thereafter, metabolic pathways (KEGG) were identified in each PC for CM, recipient, and calf. Four PCs explained 14.19, 9.86, 7.96, and 6.03% of variance. PC1 showed 27 recipient hits (>25 pathways) clustered with mother weight at birth and only two hits in CM (l-Val and Lauroyl diethanolamide). PC2 associated calf (Nitrogen metabolism (P < 0.004); Gly, Ser and Thr metabolism [P < 0.021]) and CM pathways (Phe, Tyr and Trp biosynthesis; Phe metabolism; glutathione (GSH) metabolism (P = 0.003 to 0.053); and Aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) biosynthesis), with only pyruvate and lactate up-regulated in recipients. PC3 linked calf gestation, growth and redox status, with CM (Citrate cycle; Glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism; and Ala, Asp and Glu metabolism (P = 0.0001 to 0.036)) and recipient pathways (Gly, Ser and Thr metabolism; GSH metabolism; Phe metabolism; Biotin metabolism; aa-tRNA biosynthesis; Val, Leu, and Ile biosynthesis; and Arg (P = 0.0001 to 0.053) biosynthesis). PC4 did not show patterns among calf Na+, Cl−, sO2 and TO2 (up-regulated) and nasal flux (down-regulated), but they covariated with CM (aa-tRNA biosynthesis; Val, Leu, and Ile biosynthesis; Val, Leu, and Ile degradation; Lys degradation; GSH metabolism; Arg and Pro metabolism; Gln and Glu metabolism; Nitrogen metabolism (P = 1.95E-09 to 0.0389); Phe, Tyr and Trp biosynthesis; and Glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism) and recipient pathways (Val, Leu and Ile biosynthesis; aa-tRNA biosynthesis; and His metabolism (P = 6.97E-05 to 0.031)). PC3 was affected by embryo freezing (P < 0.006), culture (P = 0.085) and Day-6 stage (P < 0.003), while PC1, PC2 and PC4 only showed breed effects. Culture conditions during early development may entail long-term effects on the offspring. Regulated pathways in the embryo can be explored in association with calf fitness.
This research was supported by Horizon 2020 No 952908-Glomicave-. IG: MINECO BES-2017-082200.FEDER.
