D.C. Wathes
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Assessment of current colostrum feeding practices and passive transfer of immunity in dairy herds in Great Britain: A cross‐sectional study Open
Background Updated targets for measuring transfer of passive immunity (TPI) at the herd level have been suggested, but the current performance of dairy herds in Great Britain is unknown. Methods A cross‐sectional study was performed. Serum…
Comparison of Activity Levels Around Disbudding Between Individually and Pair-Housed Dairy Calves Open
Use of pair housing for preweaning calves has shown positive benefits in terms of health and production, with it also being thought to offer social support in times of stress such as when calves are disbudded. Calf disbudding through therm…
Development and Progression of Bovine Respiratory Disease Measured Using Clinical Respiratory Scoring and Thoracic Ultrasonography in Preweaned Calves on Dairy Farms in the United Kingdom: A Prospective Cohort Study Open
The respiratory health of preweaned calves is an important determinant of their health, welfare, and future performance. This prospective cohort study measured bovine respiratory disease (BRD) on 16 dairy farms, including 476 calves in Sou…
Does inbreeding contribute to pregnancy loss in <span>Thoroughbred</span> horses? Open
Background Excessive inbreeding increases the probability of uncovering homozygous recessive genotypes and has been associated with an increased risk of retained placenta and lower semen quality. No genomic analysis has investigated the as…
Effects of the Individual and Pair Housing of Calves on Long-Term Heifer Production on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm Open
Pair housing of pre-weaning dairy calves has previously demonstrated positive impacts on their growth, health and behaviour, but longer-term effects on production are still relatively unknown. This study followed a cohort of 431 Holstein h…
Prediction of key milk biomarkers in dairy cows through milk mid-infrared spectra and international collaborations Open
At the individual cow level, suboptimum fertility, mastitis, negative energy balance, and ketosis are major issues in dairy farming. These problems are widespread on dairy farms and have an important economic impact. The objectives of this…
Calf Health, Feeding and Social Behaviours within Groups Fed on Automatic Milk Feeders Open
Automatic calf feeders (AMFs) that supply milk for pre-weaning calves require group housing. This observational study assessed calf growth, health, feeding patterns and social behaviours prior to, during and following weaning in groups on …
View article: An organism-wide ATAC-seq peak catalog for the bovine and its use to identify regulatory variants
An organism-wide ATAC-seq peak catalog for the bovine and its use to identify regulatory variants Open
We report the generation of an organism-wide catalog of 976,813 cis -acting regulatory elements for the bovine detected by the assay for transposase accessible chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq). We regroup these regulatory elements in …
View article: Influence of the concentrate inclusion level in a grass silage–based diet on hepatic transcriptomic profiles in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in early lactation
Influence of the concentrate inclusion level in a grass silage–based diet on hepatic transcriptomic profiles in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in early lactation Open
Excessive negative energy balance in early lactation is linked to an increased disease risk but may be mitigated by appropriate nutrition. The liver plays central roles in both metabolism and immunity. Hepatic transcriptomic profiles were …
Effects of Individual and Pair Housing of Calves on Short-Term Health and Behaviour on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm Open
Social pair housing of calves has previously demonstrated positive impacts for calves, so this study aimed to compare the health and behaviour of calves kept in individual compared to pair housing on a single commercial UK dairy farm. A to…
View article: Hepatic Global Transcriptomic Profiles of Holstein Cows According to Parity Reveal Age-Related Changes in Early Lactation
Hepatic Global Transcriptomic Profiles of Holstein Cows According to Parity Reveal Age-Related Changes in Early Lactation Open
Cows can live for over 20 years, but their productive lifespan averages only around 3 years after first calving. Liver dysfunction can reduce lifespan by increasing the risk of metabolic and infectious disease. This study investigated the …
Comparison of environment quality measurements between 3 types of calf housing in the United Kingdom Open
Preweaning calves are kept in a range of housing types that offer variable protection against the weather and provide differing internal environments. This cross-sectional observational study assessed the effect of housing type (shed, poly…
View article: Proportion of Concentrate in the Diet of Early Lactation Dairy Cows Has Contrasting Effects on Circulating Leukocyte Global Transcriptomic Profiles, Health and Fertility According to Parity
Proportion of Concentrate in the Diet of Early Lactation Dairy Cows Has Contrasting Effects on Circulating Leukocyte Global Transcriptomic Profiles, Health and Fertility According to Parity Open
The functionality of circulating leukocytes in dairy cows is suppressed after calving, with negative energy balance as a risk factor. Leukocyte transcriptomic profiles were compared separately in 44 multiparous (MP) and 18 primiparous (PP)…
Developmental Programming of Fertility in Cattle—Is It a Cause for Concern? Open
Cattle fertility remains sub-optimal despite recent improvements in genetic selection. The extent to which an individual heifer fulfils her genetic potential can be influenced by fetal programming during pregnancy. This paper reviews the e…
View article: Locating a novel autosomal recessive genetic variant in the cattle glucokinase gene using only WGS data from three cases and six carriers
Locating a novel autosomal recessive genetic variant in the cattle glucokinase gene using only WGS data from three cases and six carriers Open
New Mendelian genetic conditions, which adversely affect livestock, arise all the time. To manage them effectively, some methods need to be devised that are quick and accurate. Until recently, finding the causal genomic site of a new autos…
View article: Transcriptomic Analysis of Circulating Leukocytes Obtained during the Recovery from Clinical Mastitis Caused by Escherichia coli in Holstein Dairy Cows
Transcriptomic Analysis of Circulating Leukocytes Obtained during the Recovery from Clinical Mastitis Caused by Escherichia coli in Holstein Dairy Cows Open
The risk and severity of clinical infection with Escherichia coli as a causative pathogen for bovine mastitis is influenced by the hosts’ phenotypic and genotypic variables. We used RNA-Seq analysis of circulating leukocytes to investigate…
View article: Associations between Circulating IGF-1 Concentrations, Disease Status and the Leukocyte Transcriptome in Early Lactation Dairy Cows
Associations between Circulating IGF-1 Concentrations, Disease Status and the Leukocyte Transcriptome in Early Lactation Dairy Cows Open
Peripartum dairy cows commonly experience negative energy balance (EB) and immunosuppression together with high incidences of infectious and metabolic disease. This study investigated mechanisms linking EB status with immune defense in ear…
A survey of calf management practices and farmer perceptions of calf housing in UK dairy herds Open
Adoption of optimal management techniques for rearing dairy calves has significant effects on their health, welfare, and productivity. Despite much published literature on best practice, calf morbidity and mortality rates remain high. This…
View article: Effect of diet and nonesterified fatty acid levels on global transcriptomic profiles in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells in early lactation dairy cows
Effect of diet and nonesterified fatty acid levels on global transcriptomic profiles in circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells in early lactation dairy cows Open
After calving, lipid mobilization caused by increased nutrient demands for lactation leads to elevated circulating concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA). Excessive NEFA levels have previously been identified as a major risk fa…
View article: Corrigendum to “Relationships between metabolic profiles and gene expression in liver and leukocytes of dairy cows in early lactation” (J. Dairy Sci. 104:3596–3616)
Corrigendum to “Relationships between metabolic profiles and gene expression in liver and leukocytes of dairy cows in early lactation” (J. Dairy Sci. 104:3596–3616) Open
View article: Comparison of the Ability of High and Low Virulence Strains of Non-cytopathic Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus-1 to Modulate Expression of Interferon Tau Stimulated Genes in Bovine Endometrium
Comparison of the Ability of High and Low Virulence Strains of Non-cytopathic Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus-1 to Modulate Expression of Interferon Tau Stimulated Genes in Bovine Endometrium Open
Bovine Viral Diarrhea virus (BVDV) is a pestivirus with a single-stranded, positive sense RNA genome. It is endemic in many cattle populations, causing major economic losses in part due to reduced fertility. BVDV exhibits great genetic div…
The Health and Behavioural Effects of Individual versus Pair Housing of Calves at Different Ages on a UK Commercial Dairy Farm Open
Housing management of dairy calves is one of the factors that contributes to a successful rearing outcome. Individual housing of pre-weaned calves is thought to provide enhanced biosecurity and easier monitoring of the individual, and so r…
View article: Global transcriptomic profiles of circulating leucocytes in early lactation cows with clinical or subclinical mastitis
Global transcriptomic profiles of circulating leucocytes in early lactation cows with clinical or subclinical mastitis Open
BackgroundBovine mastitis, an inflammatory disease of the mammary gland, is classified as subclinical or clinical. Circulating neutrophils are recruited to the udder to combat infection. We compared the transcriptomic profiles in circulati…
A Cohort Study Risk Factor Analysis for Endemic Disease in Pre-Weaned Dairy Heifer Calves Open
Dairy heifer calves experience high levels of contagious disease during their preweaning period, which may result in poor welfare, reduced performance or mortality. We determined risk factors for disease in a cohort study of 492 heifers re…
View article: Relationships between metabolic profiles and gene expression in liver and leukocytes of dairy cows in early lactation
Relationships between metabolic profiles and gene expression in liver and leukocytes of dairy cows in early lactation Open
Homeorhetic mechanisms assist dairy cows in the transition from pregnancy to lactation. Less successful cows develop severe negative energy balance (NEB), placing them at risk of metabolic and infectious diseases and reduced fertility. We …
View article: Mining the Unmapped Reads in Bovine RNA-Seq Data Reveals the Prevalence of Bovine Herpes Virus-6 in European Dairy Cows and the Associated Changes in Their Phenotype and Leucocyte Transcriptome
Mining the Unmapped Reads in Bovine RNA-Seq Data Reveals the Prevalence of Bovine Herpes Virus-6 in European Dairy Cows and the Associated Changes in Their Phenotype and Leucocyte Transcriptome Open
Microbial RNA is detectable in host samples by aligning unmapped reads from RNA sequencing against taxon reference sequences, generating a score proportional to the microbial load. An RNA-Seq data analysis showed that 83.5% of leukocyte sa…
Fetal morphological features and abnormalities associated with equine early pregnancy loss Open
Background Early pregnancy loss (EPL) occurs in approximately 8% of equine pregnancies, although the aetiology is mostly unknown and embryonic/fetal morphological abnormalities associated with EPL are not defined. Objectives To compare the…
Whole genome analysis reveals aneuploidies in early pregnancy loss in the horse Open
Chromosome abnormalities are well documented in human spontaneous abortion studies, yet rarely reported in domesticated animals. Rodent models have previously been used to study the effects of maternal ageing on oocyte quality and ultimate…