The consequences of heat stress during the dry period can extend into the postpartum period, affecting health and productivity in the subsequent lactation. We hypothesized that cows with distinct core body temperatures (CBTs) would exhibit disparate behaviors associated with different degrees of heat generation or dissipation. The primary objective was to investigate behavioral differences of dry Holstein cows (n = 50) classified as high-temperature (HT) or low-temperature (LT), based on median CBT during the summer months using visual observations and accelerometer technology. A secondary objective was to investigate the transcriptome of white blood cells (WBCs) collected from a subgroup of HT and LT cows (n = 5; per group). Minor behavior differences were observed during the visual observations (performed for a total of 16h/cow). Based on automated monitoring system (AMS) data, collected 24/7 over a period of 42 days per cow, HT cows displayed higher periods of high activity and lower periods of inactivity prepartum and diminished rumination time postpartum than LT cows. There were 16 differently expressed genes (DEGs) in WBCs of HT compared to LT cows. Several of the identified DEGs have been previously associated with heat stress. The observed trends in the AMS data indicate that CBT and patterns of activity prepartum may serve as valuable predictors for identifying dairy cows with distinct tolerance to heat stress.

The consequences of heat stress during the dry period can extend into the postpartum period, affecting health and productivity in the subsequent lactation. We hypothesized that cows with distinct core body temperatures (CBT) would exhibit disparate behaviors associated with different degrees of heat generation or dissipation. The primary objective was to investigate behavioral differences of dry Holstein cows (n=50) classified as high-temperature (HT) or low-temperature (LT) based on median CBT during the summer months using visual observations and accelerometer technology. A secondary objective was to investigate the transcriptome of white blood cells (WBC) collected from a subgroup of HT and LT cows (n=5; per group). Minor behavior differences were observed during the visual observations (performed for a total of 16h/cow). Based on the accelerometer data, HT cows displayed higher periods of high activity and lower periods of inactivity prepartum and diminished rumination time postpartum than LT cows. There were 16 differently expressed genes (DEG) in WBC of HT than LT cows. Despite the low number, several of the identified DEGs have been previously associated with heat stress. Results indicate that CBT and patterns of activity prepartum may serve as valuable predictors for identifying dairy cows with distinct tolerance to heat stress.

Small noncoding RNAs play critical regulatory roles in development across organisms. This study profiled microRNAs (miRNAs) and tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs) during bovine conceptus elongation. Elongating conceptuses were obtained via superovulation of eight Angus heifers. Twenty samples from ovoid (OV, n = 6; 0.5–3 mm), tubular (TUB, n = 7; 5–15 mm), and filamentous (FIL, n = 7; 20–34 mm) stages underwent small RNA sequencing. Differential expression of miRNAs and tRFs was analyzed using DESeq2, accounting for donor-sire effects. No tRFs showed differential abundance across any pairwise comparisons. For miRNAs, the expressions of six miRNAs were upregulated in OV versus TUB conceptuses (padj < 0.05), including four let-7 family members (bta-let-7g, bta-let-7f, bta-let-7a-5p, and bta-let-7c) and two additional miRNAs (bta-miR-224 and bta-miR-449a). Furthermore, there were 3 miRNAs differently abundant between the ovoid and filamentous transition (padj < 0.04), including two members of the let7 family (bta-let-7g and bta-let-7f) and bta-miR-449a. Predicted targets of these differentially abundant miRNAs were identified using miRanda. Enrichment analyses of the targeted genes included pathways regulating cellular proliferation, pathways in cancer, and immune-related pathways. The let-7 family, along with miR-449a and miR-224, are candidate regulators of the balance between cellular proliferation and differentiation during elongation, based on their differential abundance and in silico target predictions.