Epigenetics

Inter- and trans- generational effects of calving month on production traits in Italian Holstein cattle

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Abstract

Several studies in dairy cattle have highlighted that heat stress (HS) during pregnancy exerts a negative effect on performances not only of animals directly exposed but also of their offspring. In particular, effects of HS experienced by F0 generation that can be detected on F1 and F2 generations are defined as intergenerational (IE) whereas those detected in the F3 - that are not directly exposed to HS - are considered transgenerational (TE) effects, respectively. Observational studies use the calving month of ancestors as indicator of the period of pregnancy occurrence. In this work, the effects of ancestor calving month on production performances of Italian Holstein cattle were investigated. Data were estimated breeding values (EBV) and deregressed proofs (DRPF) for milk (MY), fat (FY), and protein yields (PY), and somatic cell score (SCS) of 770,292 Italian Holstein cattle (F3) provided by the ANAFIBJ breed association. Data for the dam (F2), granddam (F1), and great granddam (F0) were also available. F3 EBV and DRP were analyzed with different linear models that included the fixed effects of F2 calving month and ancestor (F1 or F0) calving month, and the fixed covariables of ancestor birth date and EBV for the considered trait. Due to the kind of variable considered, no genetic effects were included. Moreover, the same model was fitted considering calving seasons instead of calving months. Finally, conception date was calculated by subtracting 270d from calving date and the effect of ancestor conception season on F3 performance was also investigated. In general, results highlighted that F3 performances (both EBV or DRP) were highly affected (P< 0.0001) by calving month or season, and by conception season of their F0, F1, and F2 ancestors. The magnitude of the effects decreased as the generation of ancestor increased (i.e., F2 > F1 > F0). In particular, F3 performances resulted to be affected by conception months or seasons of their dam and granddam, whereas the effect of the great granddam (F0) is related to the calving month. Result of the present study confirmed the presence of trans and intergenerational effect of the period of pregnancy occurrence also in Italian Holstein. In particular, intergeneration effects (i.e., of F1 and F2 pregnancies) seem to be more related to the conception season, whereas the transgenerational effect (F0 calving) seems to be related to the period of late pregnancy occurrence.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Macciotta, N., Finocchiaro, R., Dimauro, C., Pilla, F., Cassandro, M. & Cesarani, A., (2026) “Inter- and trans- generational effects of calving month on production traits in Italian Holstein cattle”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2285579. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.23743

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