Publications

Penile fibropapilloma or a penile wart associated with bovine papillomavirus-1, is a neoplastic disease frequently encountered in young bulls. Penile warts can cause paraphimosis or phimosis, and can impede copulation and overall breeding performance. In this case report, the diagnostic approach and surgical treatment of large penile masses are described in a 2.5-year-old Belgian Blue breeding bull, with the inability to copulate. During ...

Udder cleft dermatitis (UCD) is a skin condition affecting the anterior parts of the udder in dairy cattle. In the present study, we aimed to shed light on the microbiota in severe UCD lesions versus healthy udder skin by putting forward a taxonomic and functional profile based on a virulence factor analysis. Through shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we found a high proportion of bacteria in addition to a low abundance of archaea. A distinct ...

Telomere length (TL) is emerging as a biomarker in human medicine; correlating with health, longevity, and reproductive outcomes. However, its significance in predicting productive lifespan remains mostly unexplored in dairy cattle. This study aims to longitudinally assess TL in dairy heifers and investigate its correlation with (re)productive parameters. TL was determined at birth in 210 dairy calves across four farms. Among them, 174 calves ...

Recently, more attention has been given to low-birth-weight calves, often without considering gestation length. Calves can be classified as small for gestational age (SGA) when their birth weight is below the 10th percentile, similar to the definition in human medicine. While SGA babies face various health risks, it remains unclear if SGA calves face similar long-term health consequences. This study aimed to investigate the long-term effects on ...

Simple Summary: Low birth weight (BW) calves experience higher mortality, lower weights at calving, reduced milk yields in their first lactation, and longer intervals before first insemination. In human medicine, small for gestational age (SGA) babies are known to suffer from increased health risks. The aim of this study was to define SGA in Holstein Friesian (HF) calves, evaluate their body measurements, and identify prenatal risk factors for ...

The concept of developmental programming suggests that environmental influences during preand early postnatal life that can have long-term effects on future health and performance. In dairy cattle, maternal body growth, age, parity and milk yield, as well as environmental factors during gestation, have the potential to create a suboptimal environment for the developing fetus. As a result, the calf's phenotype may undergo adaptations. Moreover, ...

In brief: Opposing conclusions have been drawn regarding the presence of viable bacteria in the healthy pregnant uterus. Current evidence in humans and animals suggests that fetomaternal tissues present only traces of bacteria whose viability is still to be proven. The debate about the pioneer colonization of the fetus is still open, being the 'in utero colonization' hypothesis versus the 'sterile womb paradigm' the two opposing sides. The seed ...

Cumulus expansion is an important indicator of oocyte maturation and has been suggested to be indicative of greater oocyte developmental capacity. Although multiple methods have been described to assess cumulus expansion, none of them is considered a gold standard. Additionally, these methods are subjective and timeconsuming. In this manuscript, the reliability of three cumulus expansion measurement methods was assessed, and a deep learning ...

Simple Summary This review critically examined the literature on the interaction between insulin resistance (IR) and metabolic inflammation in transition dairy cows. Our review emphasizes how IR and metabolic inflammation mutually influence each other, leading to heightened lipolysis, immune activation, and tissue inflammatory pathways. These processes contribute to a harmful cycle where inflammatory mediators exacerbate IR and metabolic ...