Transcriptomic profiling of gastrointestinal tracts in dairy cattle during lactation reveals molecular adaptations for milk synthesis.

ABSTRACT: During lactation, dairy cattle's digestive tract requires significant adaptations to meet the increased nutrient demands for milk production. As we attempt to improve milk-related traits through selective pressure, it is crucial to understand the biological functions of the epithelia of the rumen, small intestine, and colonic tissues in response to changes in physiological state driven by changes in nutrient demands for milk synthesis. In this study, we obtained a total of 108 transcriptome profiles from three tissues (epithelia of the colon, duodenum, and rumen) of five Holstein cows, spanning eight time points from the early, mid, late lactation periods to the dry period. On average 97.06% of reads were successfully mapped to the reference genome assembly ARS-UCD1.2. We analyzed 27,607 g

SUBMITTER: Gao Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12126748 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature