Understanding the metabolism of the dairy cow

奶牛在哺乳开始时能量需求突然激增，因为葡萄糖优先进入乳腺产奶。分娩前后饲料摄入量的显著下降加剧了这种情况。与所有生物体一样，当能源经济发生局部或系统变化时，也会对其他过程产生影响。为了满足牛奶需求，能量的紧张重新分配往往会导致新陈代谢紊乱、脂肪酸过度动员、脂肪肝和免疫反应减弱。同样，当能源利用变得失调时，人类也会经历代谢性疾病。线粒体是营养物质转化为能量的中心，具有适应不同燃料来源的能力。线粒体适应已被证明在人类和其他物种的许多代谢、脂肪和免疫疾病中起着关键作用。此外，线粒体和核DNA之间的通信越来越被认为在表观遗传控制中具有重要作用，从而影响代谢功能。该项目的目的是探索线粒体如何适应奶牛的能量需求，目的是确定干预领域；营养、管理或遗传策略，以减轻代谢性疾病的负担并改善福利和生产性能。

The dairy cow experiences an abrupt surge in energy demand at the onset of lactation, as glucose is prioritised to the mammary gland for milk production. This is exacerbated by a pronounced decline in feed intake around parturition. Like all organisms when energy economics shift either locally or systemically there are consequences for other processes. The intense reallocation of energy to meet milk requirements often results in metabolic disorders, excessive fatty acid mobilisation, fatty liver and a diminished immune response. Similarly, humans experience metabolic disease when energy utilization becomes dysregulated. The mitochondrion is central to the conversion of nutrients to energy and has an ability to adapt to different fuel sources. Mitochondrial adaptation has shown to be pivotal in many metabolic, lipid and immune disorders in humans and other species. Moreover, the communication between the mitochondrion and nuclear DNA is increasingly being recognised as important in epigenetic control, thus influencing metabolic functionality. The aim of this project is to explore how the mitochondrion adapts to energy demands in the dairy cow, with the aim to identify areas of intervention; nutritional, management or genetic strategies which would reduce the burden of metabolic disease and improve welfare and performance.