Milk phenomics: leveraging biological bonds with blood and infrared technologies for evaluating animal nutritional and health status
Author(s)
Date Issued
2024
Type
article
Volume
23
Issue
1
Start Page
780
End Page
801
Abstract
Over recent decades, there was a substantial evolution in the productive management of dairy
animals worldwide with a consequent boost in individual milk yield. This evolution positioned
the milk production as the central metabolic priority around which all other physiological functions
are coordinated and partially minimised. This shift underscores the crucial role of effectively
managing stressful phases in intensive dairy farming systems, also highlighting the
resilience exhibited by the animals. Indeed, monitoring the nutritional and health status
becomes paramount, aiming for an early detection of (sub)clinical health impairments. Given
the mammary gland’s centrality in high-yielding dairy breeds, it’s unsurprising that the milk
matrix provides insights about udder itself but also systemic metabolic function. The emerging
field of milk phenomics explores links between milk components and animal health, holding
great promise for studying dairy cow resilience. The use of infrared spectroscopy on milk to predict
indicators and complex traits at the herd level is a promising approach. In the dairy sector,
the available infrared instruments mainly implement the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
This method is widely employed in milk recording schemes worldwide for animal
monitoring and breeding purposes. In addition, visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is
increasingly integrated into milking systems for daily on-farm monitoring of milk quality and
animals’ physiological status. This review examines the topic of milk phenomics together with
potential and challenges of infrared spectroscopy to predict indicators and complex traits
related to health and nutritional disorders exploiting the biological bonds that exist between
milk and blood in dairy animals.