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Data from: Profile of the Spleen Transcriptome in Beef Steers with Variation in Gain and Feed Intake

    This study examines the spleen in beef steers, a major lymphatic organ near the digestive tract, to determine whether it was also influencing individual feed efficiency status through immune responses. A total of 1216 genes were identified as differentially expressed. Data suggests the splenic contribution to some of the underlying variation among gain and intake may be a result of immune function and stress response. In addition, some of the differences in immune response functions may be related to gene copy number.

    Data from: Starch and dextrose at 2 levels of rumen-degradable protein in iso-nitrogenous diets: Effects on lactation performance, ruminal measurements, methane emission, digestibility, and nitrogen balance of dairy cows.

      This feeding trial was designed to investigate two separate questions. The first question is, “What are the effects of substituting two non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) sources at two rumen-degradable protein (RDP) levels in the diet on apparent total-tract nutrient digestibility, manure production and nitrogen (N) excretion in dairy cows?”. This is relevant because most of the N ingested by dairy cows is excreted, resulting in negative effects on environmental quality. The second question is, “Is phenotypic residual feed intake (pRFI) correlated with feed efficiency, N use efficiency, and metabolic energy losses (via urinary N and enteric CH4) in dairy cows?”. The pRFI is the difference between what an animal is expected to eat, given its level of productivity, and what it actually eats. The goal was to determine whether production of CH4, urinary N or fecal N is a driver of pRFI.