Effect of Bovine Respiratory Disease Infection on The Metabolic Profiles of Beef Steers

Abstract

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most common disease in North American feedlots. The whole metabolome of plasma from BRD infected calves was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for changing metabolites as compared to uninfected cattle to determine metabolites that could be used as biomarkers of disease. Targeted analysis was then performed on amino acids also using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. There were significant changes observed in the plasma of infected cattle. The compounds included both amino acids and energy substrates. Targeted analysis of amino acid concentrations in plasma had similar directional changes as the metabolomic analysis, although there were some differences in the amino acids that changed. Examining the whole metabolome may be a beneficial way to identify potential biomarkers of BRD, however further research is needed to validate and confirm biomarker identities.