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Postnatal Consequences of the Maternal Environment and of Growth During Prenatal Life for Productivity of Ruminants

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Abstract

There has been a recent explosion in research on consequences of fetal development for postnatal health in humans, and in the use of the sheep as a model to understand postnatal consequences of altering the prenatal environment (for review see [87]). However, there is an important need for a review that quantifies consequences of prenatal nutrition for postnatal productivity in ruminants, particularly on the extent to which traits of economic importance can be influenced or programmed by variations in the maternal and fetal environment within production systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Beef Industry Centre of Excellence, University of New England Armidale, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Paul L. Greenwood

  2. Department of Agriculture and Food, 6151, South Perth, WA, Australia

    Andrew N. Thompson

  3. Center for the Study of Fetal Programming and Department of Animal Science, University of Wyoming, 82071-3684, Laramie, WY, USA

    Stephen P. Ford

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  1. Paul L. Greenwood
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  3. Stephen P. Ford
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  1. NSW Department of Primary Industries, Trevenna Road, Armidale, 2351, Australia

    Paul L. Greenwood

  2. Livestock Industries, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, CSIRO, Carmody Rd. 306, St. Lucia, 4067, Australia

    Alan W. Bell

  3. Fac. Natural & Agricultural Sciences, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Crawley, 6009, Australia

    Philip E. Vercoe

  4. Agency (IAEA), Division of Nuclear Techniques in, International Atomic Energy, Wagramer Str. 5, Wien, 1400, Austria

    Gerrit J. Viljoen

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Greenwood, P.L., Thompson, A.N., Ford, S.P. (2009). Postnatal Consequences of the Maternal Environment and of Growth During Prenatal Life for Productivity of Ruminants. In: Greenwood, P., Bell, A., Vercoe, P., Viljoen, G. (eds) Managing the Prenatal Environment to Enhance Livestock Productivity. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3135-8_1

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