Heat tolerance in lactating Holstein dairy cows is associated with oxygen transport and mammary aerobic glucose metabolism under heat stress
- 1Institute of Dairy Science, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University
Abstract
This study explored physiological and metabolic differences and the underlying mechanisms in dairy cows with distinct heat resistance. Forty-five mid-lactation Holstein cows were evaluated for milk yield, respiratory rate and rectal temperature under non-heat stress (THI < 68) and moderate heat stress (79 < THI ≤ 88). Based on principal component analysis and cluster analysis of milk yield, respiratory rate and rectal temperature, 10 heat-sensitive (HS) and 10 heat-tolerant (HT) cows were screened for in-depth analysis. Compared with HS cows, HT cows had lower rectal temperature (38.8 vs. 39.6°C; P < 0.001) and greater milk yield (34.3 vs. 27.0 kg; P < 0.001). The HT cows showed higher peripheral red blood cells count (P = 0.006) and hemoglobin concentration (P = 0.001), accompanied by lower serum total bilirubin (P = 0.045), improved blood acid-base status (P = 0.021) and higher arterial and venous blood oxygen concentrations (P = 0.030, P = 0.021). Additionally, HT cows exhibited higher mammary plasma flow (P = 0.011), glucose uptake (P = 0.002) and clearance rate (P = 0.001). Concentrations of milk lactate, glucose-6-phosphate and pyruvate were lower (P = 0.009), whereas citrate was higher (P = 0.020) in HT cows. Collectively, these findings indicate that superior heat tolerance in HT cows is associated with enhanced systemic oxygen transport capacity and mammary plasma flow, supporting efficient aerobic glucose metabolism alongside preserved physiological homeostasis and sustained lactation performance under heat stress.
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BibTeX
@article{che2026heat,
title = {{Heat tolerance in lactating Holstein dairy cows is associated with oxygen transport and mammary aerobic glucose metabolism under heat stress}},
author = {Haoyu Che and Yangming Huang and Fengfei Gu and Huizeng Sun and Hengbo Shi and Jianxin Liu},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-63422-1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63422-1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Heat tolerance in lactating Holstein dairy cows is associated with oxygen transport and mammary aerobic glucose metabolism under heat stress
AU - Haoyu Che
AU - Yangming Huang
AU - Fengfei Gu
AU - Huizeng Sun
AU - Hengbo Shi
AU - Jianxin Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-63422-1
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-63422-1
AB - This study explored physiological and metabolic differences and the underlying mechanisms in dairy cows with distinct heat resistance. Forty-five mid-lactation Holstein cows were evaluated for milk yield, respiratory rate and rectal temperature under non-heat stress (THI < 68) and moderate heat stress (79 < THI ≤ 88). Based on principal component analysis and cluster analysis of milk yield, respiratory rate and rectal temperature, 10 heat-sensitive (HS) and 10 heat-tolerant (HT) cows were screened for in-depth analysis. Compared with HS cows, HT cows had lower rectal temperature (38.8 vs. 39.6°C; P < 0.001) and greater milk yield (34.3 vs. 27.0 kg; P < 0.001). The HT cows showed higher peripheral red blood cells count (P = 0.006) and hemoglobin concentration (P = 0.001), accompanied by lower serum total bilirubin (P = 0.045), improved blood acid-base status (P = 0.021) and higher arterial and venous blood oxygen concentrations (P = 0.030, P = 0.021). Additionally, HT cows exhibited higher mammary plasma flow (P = 0.011), glucose uptake (P = 0.002) and clearance rate (P = 0.001). Concentrations of milk lactate, glucose-6-phosphate and pyruvate were lower (P = 0.009), whereas citrate was higher (P = 0.020) in HT cows. Collectively, these findings indicate that superior heat tolerance in HT cows is associated with enhanced systemic oxygen transport capacity and mammary plasma flow, supporting efficient aerobic glucose metabolism alongside preserved physiological homeostasis and sustained lactation performance under heat stress.
SN - 2045-2322
ER -