Lipid added as rapeseed or palm oil to the diet of dairy goats over 8 mo of one lactation alters fat secretion and milk fatty acid (FA) and protein composition. In this study, we examined the contribution of mammary gene expression to these changes and included 30 multiparous goats of Norwegian dairy goat breed for a 230-d experimental period, with indoor feeding from 1 to 120 d in milk (DIM), mountain grazing from 120 to 200 DIM, and indoor feeding from 200 to 230 DIM. After an initial period (1-60 DIM) when the control diet was given to all goats, the animals were subdivided into 3 groups of 10 goats. Treatments (60-230 DIM) were basal concentrate (control) alone or supplemented with either 8% (by weight) hydrogenated palm oil enriched with palmitic acid (POFA) or 8% (by weight) rapeseed oil (RSO). Milk was sampled individually from all animals throughout lactation, at 60, 120, 190, and 230 DIM for milk yield and composition. On d 60, 120, 190, and 230, mammary tissue was collected by biopsy to measure mRNA abundance of 19 key genes. None of the 19 genes involved in milk protein, apoptosis, lipid metabolism, transcription factors, and protein of the milk fat globule membrane, as measured by mRNA abundance, were affected by the lipid supplements, although POFA increased milk fat content, and POFA and RSO affected milk FA composition. Over the experimental period (120-230 DIM), the mRNA abundance of 13 of the 19 studied genes was affected by lactation stage. For some genes, expression either gradually increased from 120 to 230 DIM (CSN2, CASP8, CD36, GLUT4) or increased from 120 to 200 and then remained stable (XDH), or decreased (CSN3, G6PD, SREBF1, PPARG1) or increased only at 230 DIM (SCD1, SCD5, ELF3). For a second group of genes (CSN1, LALBA, FABP3, FASN, LPL, MFGE8), expression was stable over the lactation period. Our results suggest that factors other than gene expression, such as substrate availability or posttranscriptional regulation of these genes, could play an important role in the milk fat and FA responses to dietary fat composition in the goat. In conclusion, mammary gene expression in goats was more regulated by stage of lactation than by the dietary treatments applied.
Keywords: goat; lactation period; lipid supplement; mammary gene expression; milk fatty acids.
The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).