👤 Gastón F Alfaro

Primiparous Angus × Simmental dams (n = 22) with an average body weight (BW) of 449 ± 32 kg of BW were divided based on two nutritional treatments: control (CTRL) and rumen-protected methionine (RPM). The control group received bermudagrass hay, corn gluten, and soybean hulls pellets supplementation (base diet); whereas the RPM group received the base diet in addition to 0.07% of DM of RPM at a fixed rate during the last trimester of gestation and the first ~80 d of lactation, in which calves (n = 17) were early weaned. Only male calves were included in this study. After weaning, calves born to RPM dams also received RPM from weaning (day 1) to day 100. Blood sampling and skeletal muscle biopsies for subsequent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis were conducted on days 1, 25, 50, and 100 on calves. Quantitative PCR data were analyzed using GLIMMIX, and blood metabolites concentrations, BW, and body condition score (BCS) were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS. There was no difference in maternal BW and BCS between treatments. Glucose and blood metabolites that served as biomarkers for liver health (e.g., aspartate transaminase, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, and alanine transaminase) were in the normal levels for all calves (P > 0.40). Calves in the RPM group had a greater expression of adipogenic genes (e.g., PPARG, LPL, and CEBPD) at day 100 compared with CTRL (P < 0.01). In addition, DNA methylation (DNMT1) and oxidative stress-related genes (SOD2 and NOS3) in the RPM group were upregulated at day 100 compared with CTRL (P < 0.01). These results may suggest that calves born to primiparous dams exposed to RPM supplementation are more prone to develop greater adipose tissue than CTRL calves. Furthermore, RPM supplementation may improve methylation processes, as shown by the upregulation of DNMT1. The results shown in our study aim at expanding the knowledge on fetal programming and early-life growth and development of beef cattle under supplementation with RPM. Show less

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a complex disease with a higher incidence in Europeans than other populations. The Colombians Living in Medellin (CLM) is admixed with ancestry contributions from Europeans, Native Americans (NAT) and Africans (AFR). Our aim was to analyze the genetic admixture component at candidate T1D loci in Colombian individuals with the disease. Seventy-four ancestry informative markers (AIMs), which tagged 41 T1D candidate loci/genes, were tested by studying a cohort of 200 Northwest Colombia diseased individuals. T1D status was classified by testing for glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD-65 kDa) and protein tyrosine-like antigen-2 auto-antibodies in serum samples. Candidate loci/genes included Both T1D patients and individuals from CLM displayed mainly European ancestry (61.58 Although Colombian T1D patients have globally presented with higher European admixture, specific T1D loci have displayed varying levels of Native American and AFR ancestries in diseased individuals. Show less