Specific changes in the mother’s uterine environment during pregnancy can have a long-term impact on the progeny. This study examined the effect of supplementing rumen-protected methionine (RP-Met) during the periconceptional period on pre- and postnatal traits of female progeny. A total of 114 cows were randomly assigned to 2 treatments where cows were supplemented for 14 d with corn gluten (CON) or corn gluten and 15 g of RP-Met (RPM) beginning at 7 d before timed-artificial insemination. After calving, female calves were weighed and body length, wither height and heart girth were measured every 60 d until weaning. Biopsies of liver, longissimus dorsi muscle, and adipose tissue were collected a month before weaning for RNA sequencing. Female progeny from dams supplemented with RPM were taller than the control animals. Also, there were differences in gene expression in each tissue examined due to treatment with RP-Met. Body weight was not affected by treatment. In conclusion, RP-Met during the periconceptional period has an effect on wither height, and gene expression in different tissues.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.