Interpretive Summary: One-carbon metabolite supplementation to heifers for the first 14 d of the estrous cycle alters the plasma and hepatic one-carbon metabolite pool and methionine-folate cycle enzyme transcript abundance in a dose-dependent manner

By: Matthew S Crouse, Harvey C Freetly, Amanda K Lindholm-Perry, Bryan W Neville, William T Oliver, Robert T Lee, Jessica G Syring, Layla E King, Lawrence P Reynolds, Carl R Dahlen, Joel S Caton, Alison K Ward, Robert A Cushman

The strategic inclusion of one-carbon metabolites, which include vitamins and minerals that are found in human prenatal vitamins, to beef cattle feeding and management protocols during the periconceptual period (the time around breeding) is a novel concept. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the feeding and injection doses of one-carbon metabolites in beef heifers to maintain increased circulating concentrations of one-carbon metabolites for use as a model from which other studies could base their treatments on. We determined that daily feeding of methionine and choline at 0.08% of dry matter and 60 g/d, respectively, and administration of vitamin B₁₂ and folate at 20 mg and 320 mg once per week, respectively resulted in sustained elevated concentrations of one-carbon metabolites.