Research - Nutrition and Milk Composition in Dairy Cattle

Our laboratory studies nutrient-gene interactions that influence milk fat and protein synthesis in the dairy cow. Our current work focuses on the influence of short and medium chain fatty acids on milk fat synthesis. We have demonstrated that milk fat synthesis increases when supplemental short and medium chain fatty are provided to the dairy cow and are examining their effects on the gene expression, protein abundance, and enzymatic activity of the two major enzymes involved in de novo fatty acid synthesis: fatty acid synthase (FASN) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). We use a variety of in vivo and in vitro models including cell culture, the lactating mouse, and lactating dairy cows along with molecular, cellular, and biochemical techniques to study nutritional influences on:

• milk fat synthesis and fatty acid composition
• nutrient partitioning in the dairy cow
• regulation of mammary gene expression

Teaching

• ANSC 242: Dairy Cattle Management
• ANSC 315: Applied Animal Nutrition
• ANSC 244: Dairy Cattle Evaluation
• ANSC 612: Energy Nutrition

Awards and Honors

• Northeast ADSA-ASAS Young Scientist Award, 1990
• ADAS American Feed Industries Association Dairy Nutrition Research Award, 1996
• Excellence in Research Award, CANR Alumni Association, 1998
• Gamma Sigma Delta Research Award, 2001
• NRC Committee member that wrote the “Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle,” 2001
• CANR Dean Gordon Cairns Award for Distinguished Creative Work and Teaching in Agriculture, 2006

Other Accomplishments

• Author of 81 refereed scientific papers, 3 book chapters or reviews, and 127 abstracts
• Publications cited more than 2,300 times
• Trained 24 graduate students
• First to demonstrate induction of milk fat depression by rumen Trans fatty acids
• First to demonstrate that choline was a limiting nutrient in dairy cattle
• Recipient of $1.4 million in extramural funding
• Two U.S. Patents

Publications

Representative Publications

• Singh, K., R. A. Erdman, K. M. Swanson, A. J. Molenaar, N. J. Maqbool, T. T., J. Arias, E. Quinn-Walsh, and K. Stelwagen. 2009. Epigenetic Regulation of Milk Production in Dairy Cows. J. Mammary Gland Biol. Neoplasia. 14(In Press).
• Vyas, D., and R. A. Erdman. 2009. Meta-analysis of milk protein yield responses to lysine and methionine supplementation. J Dairy Sci. 92:5011-5018. Read Article
• Kadegowda A.K.G., M. Bionaz, L.S. Piperova, R. A. Erdman, and J. J. Loor. 2009 Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma activation and long-chain fatty acids alter lipogenic gene networks in bovine mammary epithelial cells to various extents J. Dairy Sci. 92: 4276-4289. Read Article
• Kadegowda. A. K. G., M. Bionaz, B. Thering, L. S. Piperova, R. A. Erdman, and J.J. Loor. 2009. Identification of Internal Controls for Quantitative PCR in Mammary Tissue of Lactating Cows Receiving Lipid Supplements J. Dairy Sci. 92:2007-2019. Read Article
• Kadegowda, A.K.G., L.S. Piperova, P. Delmonte, and R.A. Erdman. 2008. Abomasal infusion of butterfat increases milk fat in lactating dairy cows. J. Dairy Sci. 91:2370-2379. Read Article
• Kadegowda, A.K.G., L.S. Piperova, and R.A. Erdman. 2008. Principal component and multivariate analysis of milk long-chain fatty acid composition during diet-induced milk fat depression. J. Dairy Sci. 91:749-759. Read Article

Grants

Project	Funding Source	Amount
Metabolic effects of fatty acids on milk production and composition. (00-03)	BioProducts, Inc.	$150,000
Methionine as a Methyl Donor in Lactating Dairy Cows.	Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Competitive Grant	$25,000