Metabolic clusters of early-lactating dairy cows based on blood β-hydroxybutyrate trajectories and predicted from milk compounds

• Published in: Journal of dairy science 2024-11, Vol.107 (11), p.9719-9734
• Main Authors: Girma, Muluken, Heirbaut, S., Hertogs, K., Jing, X.P., Zhang, M.Q., Lutakome, P., Geerinckx, K., Els, S., Aernouts, B., Vandaele, L., Fievez, V.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3-Hydroxybutyric Acid - blood; Animals; Cattle; fatty acid; Fatty Acids - blood; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified - blood; Female; Lactation; metabolic status; Milk - chemistry; Milk - metabolism; trajectory; β-hydroxybutyrate
• ISSN: 0022-0302; 1525-3198; 1525-3198
• DOI: 10.3168/jds.2024-24762

High-yielding dairy cows encounter metabolic challenges in early lactation. Typically, BHB, measured at a specific time point, is employed to diagnose the metabolic status of cows based on a predetermined threshold. However, in early lactation, BHB is highly dynamic, with high interindividual variability in its time profile. This could limit the effectiveness of the single measurement and threshold-based diagnosis and could contribute to the disparities in reports linking metabolic status with productive and reproductive outcomes. This research examines the trajectories of BHB to unveil intercow variations and identify latent metabolic groups. We compiled a dataset from 2 observational studies involving a total of 195 lactations from multiparous Holstein Friesian cows. The dataset encompasses measurements of BHB, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and insulin from blood samples collected at 3, 6, 9, and 21 DIM, along with weekly determinations of milk composition and fatty acids (FA) proportions in milk fat. In both experiments, milk yield (MY) and feed intake were recorded daily during the first month of lactation. We explored interindividual and intraindividual variations in metabolic responses using the trajectories of blood BHB and evaluated the presence of distinct metabolic groups based on such variations. For this purpose, we employed the growth mixture model, a trajectory clustering technique. Our findings unveil novel insights into the diverse metabolic responses among cows, encompassing both trajectory patterns and the magnitude of blood BHB concentrations. Specifically, we identified 3 latent metabolic groups: the quickly increasing BHB (QuiBHB) cluster (≈10%) exhibited a higher initial BHB concentration than other clusters, peaked on d 9 (average maximum BHB of 2.4 mM) and then declined by d 21; the slowly increasing BHB (SloBHB) cluster (≈23%) started with a lower BHB concentration, gradually increased until d 9, and reached the highest BHB concentration at d 21 (1.6 mM serum BHB at the end of the experimental period); and the low BHB (LoBHB) cluster (≈67%) began with the lowest serum BHB concentration (serum BHB