Long-term consequences of feed restriction during late pregnancy in goats on feeding behavior and emotional reactivity of female offspring
Résumé
Feed restriction during pregnancy can have detrimental effects on offspring development both during the juvenileperiod and during adult life. Long-term effects of maternal feed restriction during the last third of pregnancyon growth, metabolism and behavior of female kids, with a focus on feeding behavior and emotionalreactivity, were studied in goats. Female kids born to control (CONT, n=17) or born to feed restrictedgoats (REST, n=15) were artificially reared and monitored from birth to 24 months of age. Maternal feedingrestriction globally reduced live weight (Pb0.001) and body condition score (P=0.02) of REST compared toCONT offspring. Females from the REST group had a higher daily feed intake (P=0.05) and tended to eatmore rapidly (P=0.09) than females from the CONT group at 12 months of age. One year later, REST goatsstill ate more than CONT goats (P=0.05). Glucose metabolism did not appear to be modified as no differenceswere observed in glucose or insulin responses to an intravenous glucose tolerance test. No differencesin time budget were found at 12 months of age. However, the HPA axis response to an ACTH injection wasgreater in REST than in CONT goats: higher peak cortisol concentration (P=0.02) and a greater area underthe curve were found (P=0.01) at 14 months of age. In conclusion, maternal feed restriction during latepregnancy modified both feeding behavior and the stress physiology of female offspring for up to 2 yearsof age. However, the changes observed were small.