Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity

Abstract

Global demand for livestock products is expanding and the role of developing countries in meeting this demand is increasing. Nutrition of the reproductive female in livestock production systems in developed and developing countries is a key to satisfying this increased demand because it influences the number, size and survival of offspring, and the frequency with which they are produced. One field of research that is attracting increasing attention is in utero nutrition of the fetus because of evidence that it influences postnatal productivity and health in the long-term. Livestock in the developing world endure unique challenges from their environments, which are generally harsher and less managed than those faced by livestock in the developed countries. A feature of livestock production systems in developing countries is the fluctuation in the amount and quality of feed resources accessible to livestock. The fetus, therefore, is exposed to various challenges that are mostly, but not exclusively, of nutritional origin and that may influence its lifetime performance. The local genotypes within developing countries are unique in that they often have evolved, been selected for, or been exposed to trans-generational environmental effects, which dictate that survival is the overriding production objective. Often, little or no knowledge exists on whether the maternal environment influences the subsequent productive performance of offspring from these genotypes. A better understanding of how fetal development can be enhanced to improve lifetime performance in local genotypes will provide more opportunities to satisfy the increasing demand for livestock products.