Maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation effects on fetal liver at birth
We investigated gene regulatory relationships in the neonatal liver to identify potential mechanisms by which maternal vitamin and mineral supplementation during gestation influences developmental programming in heifer calves. Accordingly, the hepatic transcriptome was measured using RNA-Seq in 12 calves collected 30 h after calving from dams fed a diet initiated 60 days pre-breeding and con-tinuing throughout gestation (VTM or CON, n = 6/group). We identified 630 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between treatment groups. We also identified 58 transcription factors (TFs) and 435 differentially connected genes (p < 0.05), suggesting maternal diet induced a regulatory rewiring of TFs and histone deacetylating genes. Further research should explore whether these transcriptional changes are linked to epigenetic modifications established at birth, persist throughout postnatal development, and potentially contribute to multigenerational inheritance. Overall design: Liver transcriptomes were profiled by RNA-Seq in calves collected 30 h after birth from dams fed either a basal diet (CON; n = 6) or the basal diet plus a vitamin and mineral premix (VTM; n = 6; 113 g•  heifer-1•d-1), starting 60 days pre-breeding and continuing through gestation.