Working chute behavior of feedlot cattle can be an indication of cattle temperament and beef carcass composition and quality.

The relationship between working chute temperament and beef carcass quality traits were measured on 183 crossbred feedlot steers. Steers were weighed and sorted into 16 pens and weighed every 28 days. Temperament was evaluated as exit velocity (EV), chute score (CS), and catch score (CAPS). Tissue samples were collected for DNA profile including docility (IGENITY®, Merial Limited, Duluth, GA, U.S.A). Steers were harvested at 14 to 16 months of age (606 ± 52 kg). Exit velocity increased and CS and CAPS values declined over time. Steers receiving a lower CAPS score had more marbling (P = 0.02). Ribeye steaks from steers with a slow first recorded EV were more tender (P = 0.02) than steaks from faster EV steers. IGENITY® docility index had a positive (P = 0.09) correlation (r = 0.15) with Warner-Bratzler shear force (WBS) indicating a higher docility index was loosely associated with tougher meat.

Uteroplacental vascular development and placental function: an update.

The importance of the placenta and its vascular development to fetal growth and development has been appreciated since ancient times. Based on numerous studies in humans and animal model organisms in the last 2-3 decades, normal placental angiogenesis is critically important to ensure adequate blood flow to the placenta and therefore to provide the substrates that support normal fetal growth. Placental angiogenesis is abnormal at term in compromised pregnancies (those in which fetal growth is altered), including those resulting from maternal nutritional or environmental stress, maternal age, increased numbers of fetuses, maternal or fetal genotype, or the use of assisted reproductive technologies (e.g., cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer). We and others have recently shown that these defects in placental vascular development occur quite early in pregnancy and may therefore presage compromised fetal growth and development. The challenges will be to find biomarkers of abnormal placental angiogenesis and to develop therapeutic strategies to "rescue" placental vascular development and thus fetal growth in compromised pregnancies. Animal models will be essential in meeting these challenges.