Effects of maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy on the adult offspring longissimus dorsi transcriptome in cattle

Maternal undernutrition during pregnancy followed by ad libitum access to nutrients during postnatal life induces postnatal metabolic disruptions in multiple species. As skeletal muscle is a major metabolic organ, RNAseq was performed on the longissimus dorsi muscles of slaughter-weight adult females that had been exposed to nutrient-restriction in utero. Dams received either 100% (control; n=7) or 70% (restricted; n=7) of their NRC nutritional requirements from gestational day 158 to parturition. After birth all female calves were treated equally according to standard production practices with an ad libitum diet being provided from post natal day 301 to slaughter at post natal day 485.