Understanding the mechanisms leading to ketosis in dairy cows is the focus of a new study launched at Texas Tech University.
Veterinary researcher Clarissa Strieder Barboza received a $300,000 USDA grant to study the development of ketosis, the natural metabolic process of burning fat cells to produce energy when carbohydrates are not available.
“Our ultimate goal is to reduce economic losses associated with decreased milk production, reproductive performance, and welfare in cows that develop ketosis after calving,” Strieder-Barboza said. According to the researcher, up to 80% of early-lactation dairy cows develop ketosis to some degree.
The Texas Tech team plans to use novel genomics techniques, such as single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, to compare fat tissue from cows with and without ketosis. Their goal: unraveling the metabolic processes that ultimately lead to ketosis, so appropriate interventions can be developed.
“This work will be the basis for developing new nutritional and therapeutic interventions to prevent metabolic disease,” declared Strieder-Barboza. She and her team hope to learn more about fat tissue function and its ability to break down during energy shortages. They hope to develop preventative measure to help offset ketosis-induced production losses and improve animal health and welfare.
