EVALUATION OF THE THERMOREGULATORY CAPACITY OF SLICK HAIR HOLSTEIN COWS UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS LEADING TO HEAT STRESS IN PUERTO RICO

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: TERMINATED
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1003628
• Project No.: PR00452
• Project Start Date: Aug 5, 2014
• Project End Date: Jul 31, 2019

Project Director
Sanchez-Rodriguez, HE, L..

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO AT MAYAGUEZ
P. O. BOX 9000
MAYAGUEZ,PR 00681

Performing Department
Animal Industry

Non Technical Summary
The continually increasing global temperatures have and will continue to modify the agricultural production systems all around the world. In livestock production, the Bos indicus cattle thermoregulatory superiority represents considerable advantages in such agriculture scenarios. In these cattle a very short, sleek hair coat enhances heat dissipation while decreasing solar radiation heat gain. Unfortunately, in dairy cattle, Bos indicus animals are known to maintain lower than desirable production levels. The high producing dairy Bos taurus breeds (i.e., Holstein) have been originated in temperate regions, subsequently presenting highly limited thermotolerance probably due to its dense and long hair coat. Moreover, the crosses between both subspecies yield animals with enhanced thermotolerance but with lower than desired milk yield, resulting in animals that may not satisfy the productions levels required to sustain a constantly growing global human population. Therefore, in order to maintain desirable production levels in these continuously worsening environmental conditions, alternative measures need to be evaluated. A sleek, very short, and glossy hair coat (slick hair) has been selected for decades in the Holstein cattle of Puerto Rico. These animals represent a highly promising option in the search for such an alternative because they may already present the thermoregulatory advantages observed in Bos indicus cattle, while maintaining desirable production levels. However, limited data has been obtained in these Holstein cows to confirm its alleged thermoregulatory superiority. Therefore, the objective of this proposed study is to evaluate the thermoregulatory capacity of Holstein slick hair cows in comparison with their normal hair counterparts. The proposed study will compare body temperature, sweating capacity and blood components between normally and slick haired Puertorican Holstein cows in order to determine its thermoregulatory capacity. The findings of this study can potentially represent a significant alternative to increase food production efficiency in countries with difficult environmental conditions, helping in this way to reduce global human hunger.

Animal Health Component

0%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

40%

Applied

60%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
303	3410	1020	100%

Knowledge Area
303 - Genetic Improvement of Animals;

Subject Of Investigation
3410 - Dairy cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1020 - Physiology;

Keywords

slick hair

heat stress

climate change

food availability

dairy cattle

puerto rican cattle

holstein

Goals / Objectives
The major goals the Project pretends to achieve are:1) To compare slick haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows with their normally haired counterparts in terms of body temperature regulation under environmental conditions leading to heat stress in Puerto Rico.2) To compare slick haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows with their normally haired counterparts in terms of sweat glands density and size.3) To compare slick haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows with their normally haired counterparts in terms of hematocrit and total plasma proteins.4) To evaluate the relationship between body temperature, sweat glands density and size, hematocrit and total plasma proteins in slick and normally haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows.

Project Methods
Animals. Forty non-pregnant lactating Holstein cows (n = 20 slick haired and 20 normally haired) from the University of Puerto Rico's Agricultural Experimental Station at Lajas will be used in this study. The experiment will be carried on two different trials, one during the hot (September; 20 total cows) and another during the cooler (February; 20 total cows) seasons. All lactating animals at the farm will be visually classified according to their hair coat types prior to the experiment and the two experimental groups will be chosen taking in account: lactation number, days in milk, percentage of white and black color hair, and body size in order to decrease the variability between groups.Objective 1: Blank (without progesterone) Controlled Internal Drug Release (CIDRs) will be autoclaved and attached to a TidbiT v2 Water Temperature Data Logger thermometer (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA, USA) previously validated by our group (data not published). The complete device will be washed with water and soap, a chlorinated solution and a chlorexidine solution immediately before insertion to the cows. The thermometers will be programmed to record and store vaginal temperature data every 5 minutes in each animal. Each cow in the selected groups will be restricted and the vulva and surrounding area will be washed with water and surgical soap, disinfected with a chlorhexidine solution, and dried with clean paper towels. The CIDR + thermomether will be inplanted in the vagina by means of a CIDR applicator using sterile obstetrical lubricant.Vaginal thermometers will record data for seven consecutive days beginning 12 hours post-implantation in order to remove the effect of any external unwanted factor associated with physical restriction. Environmental data loggers (HOBO Onset Computer Corporation) will record air temperature and relative humidity in synchrony with vaginal thermometers through all the experiment in pens with and without shade where cows will be housed during the experiment. Because solar radiation is an important factor affecting body temperature (West, 2003), from 1000 to 1200 h cows will be directly exposed to the sun. The remaining part of the day access to artificial shade will be provided. Drinking water will be available at all time. After the experiment completion, cows will be restricted and vaginal thermometers will be removed. Data will be downloaded through the respective computer software (HOBOware Pro; Onset Computer Corporation) and statistically analyzed.Objective 2: After completion of Objective 1, skin biopsies will be obtained in experimental cows from the rump, loin, and shoulder areas using a Miltex Punch Biopsy needle of 6mm in diameter. Tissue samples will be fixed in formaldehyde and embedded in paraffin. The embedded paraffin blocks containing the skin samples will be sectioned longitudinally at 7 µm by means of a microtome, mounted and stained with hematoxylin and eosin on microscope slides for further analysis. The density (amount / µm) and size of sweat glands will be quantified from each slide. Samples will be analyzed in triplicate.Objective 3: Also after Objective 1 is achieved, coccygeal blood samples will be obtained from each experimental animal in heparinized 8 mL tubes. Blood samples will be centrifuged in a capillary tube for 5 minutes at 10000 x g. The hematocrit (%) will be calculated by dividing the volume of packed cells over the total volume of blood sample on the capillary tube. In order to decrease any possible external factor influence (i.e., hemodilution), blood samples will be recorded during the morning (between 0700 to 0800 h) with all cows having ad libitum access to water. Total plasma proteins (g/dl) will be determined by placing a plasma sample from the capillary tubes on a refractometer. All samples will be analyzed in triplicate.Statistical AnalysisObjective 1: The relative humidity and air temperature will be combined to calculate the Thermal Humidity Index (THI) for the shade and for the no shade pens. During 1000 to 1200 h, the THI for the no shade pen will be used for statistical analysis. The shade THI will be evaluated during the remaining period. A General Lineal Model (GLM) in SAS with vaginal temperature as the dependent variable and time of the day, hair coat type, and cow ID as independent variables of the model will be employed for statistical analysis. The Correlation Procedure (Proc CORR) of SAS will be used to evaluate the association between the vaginal temperature and THI of both hair coat types during periods of solar radiation and of shade exposure. Lineal regressions (Proc REG) in SAS will be used to evaluate vaginal temperature trends in both hair coat types.Objective 2: A General Lineal Model (GLM) in SAS with the density and size of the sweat glands at the rump, the loin, and the shoulder as dependent variables and with hair coat type and cow ID as independent variables of the model will be used for statistical analysis. The Correlation Procedure (Proc CORR) of SAS will be used to evaluate the association between the density and size of the sweat glands at the different anatomical parts evaluated and the individual average daily vaginal temperature of both hair coat type groups.Objective 3: The hematocrit and the total plasma proteins will be analyzed as dependent variables and hair coat type and cow ID as independent variables in the model by means of a General Lineal Model (GLM) in SAS. The association between the hematocrit, the total plasma proteins and the individual average daily vaginal temperature of both hair coat types groups will be evaluated through the Correlation Procedure (Proc CORR) of SAS.After analysis of the collected data a manuscript will be produced for publication in a peer reviewed, internationally recognized journal as an effort to cause a change in knowledge in this area and, subsequently, in the condition of countries with environmental conditions leading to heat stress affecting cattle production. Publication of the obtained results will set the success of this project by establishing worldwide knowledge in this area. Subsequently, the impact factor of the Journal where our manuscript will be published, as well as the quantity of citations that it receives, will provide information of the impact of the proposed project.

Progress 08/05/14 to 07/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for project H-452 was the scientific community. In this regard, the results obtained under this project were presented at the 2015 and 2016 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings, as well as in the 2017 and 2018 ADSA Annual Meetings. Also, a compilation of all the obtained results under this project was submitted for consideration at the Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico as a research manuscript. The paper is already under revision. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the opportunity to train several graduate and undergraduate students in the area of thermoregulatory physiology and heat stress in cattle. The trained students are authors in the already published abstracts. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated as multiple scientific abstracts (see above) presented as posters during the 2015 and 2016 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings, as well as in the 2017 and 2018 ADSA Annual Meetings. Also, the compilation of these results is already a manuscript under review at the Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project is already over. The PI is waiting to finish the resulting manuscript publication process.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? All the proposal objectives were accomplished. The obtained results suggest that slick-haired cows have adaptations that allow them to better withstand the tropical environmental conditions than their normally-haired counterparts. The results have being disseminated to the scientific community.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. T304- Effect of the environmental conditions over the vaginal temperature and respiration rate on wild type and slick-haired Puerto Rican Jersey cows. 2015 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings- Orlando, Florida. (https://www.jtmtg.org/JAM/2015/abstracts/JAM2015_full_abstracts_book.pdf).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. T305- Effects of the thermal humidity index on vaginal temperature of slick- and wild type-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. 2015 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings- Orlando. (https://www.jtmtg.org/JAM/2015/abstracts/JAM2015_full_abstracts_book.pdf)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. 1042- Associations between the environmental conditions and vaginal temperature in wild-type and slick-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. 2016 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings- Salt Lake City, Utah. (https://www.jtmtg.org/JAM/2016/abstracts/JAM16-Abstracts.pdf).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. 1078- Hematocrit, milk yield, and production related parameters comparisons between slick and wildtype-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. 2016 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings- Salt Lake City, Utah.(https://www.jtmtg.org/JAM/2016/abstracts/JAM16-Abstracts.pdf).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: S�nchez,H.L.M202- Slick-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows have larger sweat glands than their wild type-haired counterparts. 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (https://www.adsa.org/2017/abstracts/ADSA2017_full_abstracts_book.pdf?v3).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. M186- Relationship between air and vaginal temperatures in wild type and slick-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. 2018 ADSA Annual Meeting- Knoxville, Tennessee.(https://www.adsa.org/2018/Abstracts/ADSA2018_full_abstracts_book.pdf)
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. T162- Sweat gland cross-sectional cut areas comparisons between slick and wild type-haired Holstein and Senepol cows in Puerto Rico. 2018 ADSA Annual Meeting- Knoxville, Tennessee. (https://www.adsa.org/2018/Abstracts/ADSA2018_full_abstracts_book.pdf).
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: S�nchez,H.L. Thermoregulatory and productive -related comparisons between wild type and slick -haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. 2018. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico.

Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18

Outputs
Target Audience:After an extension was granted for publication of results in a peer reviewed journal, this year target audience of project H-452 was the scientific community. In this regard, the results obtained under project 452 were submitted for consideration at the Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico as a research manuscript. The paper is already under revision. Changes/Problems:No changes have been made. The project is completed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project provided the opportunity to train graduate and undergraduate students in the area of thermoregulatory physiology and heat stress in cattle. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results were disseminated as multiple scientific abstracts presented as posters during the 2015 and 2016 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meetings, as well as in the 2017 and 2018 ADSA Annual Meetings. The compilation of these results is already a manuscript under review at the Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The project is already over. The PI is waiting to finish the resulting manuscript publication process.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The proposal objectives were accomplished. The obtained results suggest that slick haired cows have larger sweat glands than their normally haired counterparts. The results have being disseminated to the scientific community.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2018 Citation: Thermoregulatory and productive -related comparisons between wild type and slick -haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows.2018. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto RicO.

Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17

Outputs
Target Audience:During this year the target audience of this project was the scientific community at the 2017 American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting celebrated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during of June 2017. In this effort, science-based knowledge about the thermoregulatory capacity of Puerto Rican cattle (including normal- haired and slick- haired) was delivered as abstract posters to the international scientific community. Changes/Problems:No changes have been made in the proposed goals. Everything continues as originally proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided the opportunity to train graduate and undergraduate students in the area of thermoregulatory physiology and heat stress in cattle. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated as a scientific abstract presented as a poster during the 2017 American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during June 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we will continue working on the evaluation of the possible differences in terms of sweat glands between normal and slick-haired Puerto Rican dairy cows.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The proposal objective of comparing both hair coat groups (normal vs. slick- haired cows) in terms of possible sweat gland dimensions differences was preliminary tested during this year. The obtained results suggest that slick haired cows have larger sweat glands than their normally haired counterparts. The PI and graduate student are actually working to add more observations to this dataset in order to verify this result.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Z. Contreras-Correa, Noem� Pe�a-Alvarado, Wilfredo Torres-Ruiz, Jos� Almodovar Rivera, Katherine Domenech-P�rez, Cal Youngblood, M. Pag�n-Morales, A. Mesonero-Morales, J. Curbelo-Rodr�guez, Paul Randel-Follin, Gladycia Mu�iz-Col�n, Viviana Col�n-Gonz�lez, Angel Jim�nez-Arroyo, Glorian Jim�nez-Arroyo, and H. L. S�nchez-Rodr�guez. 2017. Slick- haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows have larger sweat glands than their wild- type hired counterparts. 2017 American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. June 25-28, 2017. J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 100, Suppl. 2

Progress 10/01/15 to 09/30/16

Outputs
Target Audience:During this year the target audience of this project was the scientific community at the Joint Annual Meeting of the ADSA (American Dairy Science Association) and ASAS (American Society of Animal Science) celebrated in Salt Lake City, Utah during of July 2016. In this effort science-based knowledge about the thermoregulatory capacity of Puerto Rican cattle (including normal- haired and slick- haired) was delivered as posters to the international scientific community. Changes/Problems:No changes have been made in the proposed goals. Everything continues as originally proposed. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided the opportunity to train graduate students in the area of thermoregulatory physiology and heat stress in cattle. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated as scientific abstracts presented as posters during the international conference of the Joint Annual Meeting of ADSA - ASAS in Salt Lake City, Utah during July 2016. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we will be working on the proposal objective of evaluation of possible differences in terms of sweat glands between normal and slick-haired Puerto Rican dairy cows. We will be collecting samples, preparing microscopes slides, and analyzing them through microscopy.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The proposal objective of comparing both hair coat cow groups (normal vs. slick- haired) in terms of body temperature and hematocrit values under Puerto Rico's environmental conditions was further accomplished during this year. It has been determined that slick haired cows have superior termoregulatory capacity than their normal haired counterparts. However, no differences in terms of hematocrit values were observed between slick- and normally- haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: H. L. S�nchez-Rodr�guez, Z. Contreras-Correa, M. Pag�n-Morales, J. Curbelo-Rodr�guez, A. Mesonero-Morales, C. Cabrera-Cabrera, and G. Mu�iz-Col�n. 2016. Associations between the environmental conditions and vaginal temperature in wild-type and slick-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. Joint Annual Meeting, ASAS-ADSA-CSAS-WSASAS. Salt Lake City, Utah. July 19-23, 2016. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 94, E-Suppl. 5/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 99, E-Suppl. 1.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Z. Contreras-Correa, G. Mu�iz-Col�n, M. Pag�nMorales, A. Mesonero-Morales, J. CurbeloRodr�guez, and H. L. S�nchez-Rodr�guez. 2016. Hematocrit, milk yield, and production related parameters comparisons between slick and wildtype-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. Joint Annual Meeting, ASAS-ADSA-CSAS-WSASAS. Salt Lake City, Utah. July 19-23, 2016. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 94, E-Suppl. 5/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 99, E-Suppl. 1.

Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:During this year the target audience of this project was the scientific community at the Joint Annual Meeting of the ADSA (American Dairy Science Association) and ASAS (American Society of Animal Science) celebrated in Orlando, Florida during July 2015. In this effort science-based knowledge about the thermoregulatory capacity of Puerto Rican cattle (including normal haired and slick haired) was delivered as posters to the international scientific community. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided the opportunity to train graduate students in the area of thermoregulatory physiology and heat stress in cattle. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated as scientific abstracts presented as posters during the international conference of the Joint Annual Meeting of ADSA - ASAS in Orlando, Florida during July 2015. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period we will be working on the proposal objective of evaluation of possible differences in terms of blood constituents between normal and slick-haired Puerto Rican dairy cows.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The proposal objective of comparing both hair coat cow groups (normal vs. slick haired) in terms of body temperature under Puerto Rico's environmental conditions was accomplished during this year. It has been determined that slick haired cows have superior thermoregulatory capacity than their normal haired counterparts.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Amneris M. Castro-Ramos, Gladycia C. Mu�iz-Col�n, Jaime E. Curbelo-Rodr�guez, Melvin Pag�n-Morales, Alexander Mesonero-Morales, Adalberto de Jesus-de Jesus, Neftal� Lluch-Garc�a, and H�ctor L. S�nchez-Rodr�guez. 2015. Effect of the environmental conditions over the vaginal temperature and respiration rate on wild type and slick-haired Puerto Rican Jersey cows. University of Puerto Rico at Mayag�ez Campus, Mayag�ez, Puerto Rico. Joint Annual Meeting ADSA-ASAS. Orlando, Florida, July 12-16. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 93, Suppl. s3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 98, Suppl. 2.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: H�ctor L. S�nchez-Rodr�guez, Amneris M. Castro-Ramos, Melvin Pag�n-Morales, Jaime E. Curbelo-Rodr�guez, Alexander Mesonero- Morales, and Gladycia C. Mu�iz-Col�n. 2015. Effects of the thermal humidity index on vaginal temper�ature of slick- and wild type-haired Puerto Rican Holstein cows. University of Puerto Rico at Mayag�ez Campus, Mayag�ez, Puerto Rico. Joint Annual Meeting ADSA-ASAS. Orlando, Florida, July 12-16. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 93, Suppl. s3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 98, Suppl. 2.

Progress 08/05/14 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Nothing to report.

Publications