CUSTOMISED CONCEPTION - Epigenetic consequences of periconception health and metabolic status in dairy cows for health, development and lactation performance of the offspring

Worldwide little is known on the relationship between health and metabolic status of dairy cows around conception and health, and development and performance of her calf in early and later life. Based on human and rodent studies, it can be expected that metabolic and health status of the dairy cow around conception affects not only embryo development, calf vitality at birth and development of the calf in early life but also the performance of the offspring in later life as a dairy cow during lactation. This could imply that management of the dairy cow around conception is essential for performance and longevity of the future generation. To our knowledge, studies are limited that related health or metabolic status of the dairy cow to health and metabolic status of her calf during early and later life. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the consequences of periconception health and metabolic state in dairy cows on health, development and lactation performance of her offspring. The approach of the current project consists of 2 work packages: 1. An animal experiment under controlled conditions; and 2. Analysis of longitudinal field data on cow health, metabolic state and management on calf performance collected at several research farms. Besides analyses of longitudinal data of both the animal experiment and field data, a metabolomics approach will be used to determine and compare metabolomic profiles across generations and during different life phases.