Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-29T05:07:13.417Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Udder characteristics and relationship to efficiency of milk production

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2018

C. H. Knight ,
J. R. Brown  and
R. J. Dewhurst
C. H. Knight
Affiliation:
Hannah Research Institute, Ayr KA6 5HL
J. R. Brown
Affiliation:
Hannah Research Institute, Ayr KA6 5HL
R. J. Dewhurst
Affiliation:
Institute for Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth SY23 3EB
Get access

Abstract

Milk yield is ultimately constrained by the number of mammary secretory cells and the amount produced by each cell; increasing yield during early lactation is associated with increased output per cell, whilst decreasing yield during declining lactation correlates with reduced number of cells. Overall, yield is highly correlated with mass of secretory tissue but strategic control of lactation involves a galactopoietic complex of hormones including GH, prolactin and oxytocin acting to ensure efficient milk ejection and maintenance of secretion. Fine control, on the other hand, is achieved locally within the mammary gland by an autocrine mechanism which matches supply of milk to demand. The feedback inhibitor of lactation (FIL) is a milk protein which is inhibitory to secretion, so as milk accumulates between milkings, secretion rate gradually falls. The more frequently FIL is removed by milking, the greater the overall secretion rate. Storage of milk occurs within secretory tissue (alveolar milk) but also in the cistern (cisternal milk); FIL is effective in alveolar milk but not in cisternal milk, because it is then remote from its site of action. Therefore predictions would be that for a given mass of secretory tissue, large-cisterned cows should produce more milk, be more tolerant of infrequent milking but be less responsive to frequent milking. Methods developed by us for determining cisternal and alveolar milk storage spaces have obtained statistically proven support for the latter two predictions in dairy cows; the first prediction has been proven in goats. It has been shown that cisternal milk fraction increases during the course of lactation and with increasing parity. It is now intended to investigate the feasibility of incorporating storage characteristics into future selection strategies.

Type
Research Article
Information
BSAP Occasional Publication , Volume 19: Breeding and Feeding the High Genetic Merit Dairy Cow , 1995 , pp. 79 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Production 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akers, R. M. 1985. Lactogenic hormones: binding sites, mammary growth, secretory cell differentiation and milk biosynthesis in ruminants. Journal of Dairy Science 68: 501–519.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bauman, D. E. 1992. Bovine somatotrophin: review of an emerging animal technology. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 3432–3451.Google Scholar
Brotherstone, S. 1994. Genetic and phenotypic correlations between linear type traits and production traits in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle. Animal Production 59:183–187.Google Scholar
De Hann, M. H. A., Cassel, B. G., Pearson, R. E. and Smith, B. B. 1993. Relationships between net income, days of productive life, production and linear type traits in grade and registered Holsteins. Journal of Dairy Science 75: 3553–3561.Google Scholar
Dewhurst, R. J. and Knight, C. H. 1993. An investigation of the changes in sites of milk storage in the bovine udder over two lactation cycles. Animal Production 57: 379–384.Google Scholar
Dewhurst, R. J. and Knight, C. H. 1994. Relationship between milk storage characteristics and the short-term response of dairy cows to thrice-daily milking. Animal Production 58:181–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewhurst, R. J., Mitton, A. M. and Knight, C. H. 1993. Calibration of a polyurethane foam casting technique for estimating the weight of bovine udders. Animal Production 56: 444 (abstr.).Google Scholar
Fowler, P. A., Knight, C. H., Cameron, G. G. and Foster, M. A. 1990a. In vivo studies of mammary development in the goat using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 89: 367–375.Google Scholar
Fowler, P. A., Knight, C. H., Cameron, G. G. and Foster, M. A. 1990b. Use of magnetic resonance imaging in the study of goat mammary glands in vivo . Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 89: 359–366.Google Scholar
Gorewit, R. C. and Aromando, M.C. 1985. Mechanisms involved in the adrenalin-induced blockade of milk ejection in dairy cattle. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 180: 340–347.Google Scholar
Hart, I. C., Bines, J. A., Balch, C. C. and Cowie, A. T. 1975. Hormone and metabolite differences between lactating beef and dairy cattle. Life Sciences 16:1285–1292.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. J. and Peaker, M. 1984. Feedback control of milk secretion in the goat by a chemical in milk. Journal of Physiology, London 351: 39–45.Google Scholar
Henderson, A. J. and Peaker, M. 1987. Effect of removing milk from the mammary ducts and alveoli, or of diluting stored milk, on the rate of milk secretion in the goat. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 72:13–19.Google Scholar
Hillerton, J. E., Knight, C. H., Turvey, A., Wheatley, S. D. and Wilde, C. J. 1990. Milk yield and mammary function in dairy cows milked four times daily. Journal of Dairy Research 57: 285–294.Google Scholar
Keys, J. E., Capuco, A. V., Akers, R. M. and Djiane, J. 1989. Comparative study of mammary gland development and differentiation between beef and dairy heifers. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 6: 311–319.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knight, C. H. 1995. Possibilities to increase the mammary gland producing capacity. In Prospects for future dairying: a challenge for science and industry (ed. Lind, O. and Svennersten, K.), Tumba, Alfa Laval.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H., Brosnan, T., Wilde, C. J. and Peaker, M. 1989. Evidence for a relationship between gross mammary anatomy and the increase in milk yield obtained during thrice daily milking in goats. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility (abstract series) 3: 32.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H. and Dewhurst, R. D. 1994a. Milk accumulation and distribution in the bovine udder during the interval between milkings. Journal of Dairy Research 61: 167–177.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H. and Dewhurst, R. D. 1994b. Once daily milking of dairy cows: relationship between yield loss and mammary cistern capacity. Journal of Dairy Research 61: 411–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knight, C. H., Hillerton, J. E., Teverson, R. M. and Winter, A. 1992. Biopsy of the bovine mammary gland. British Veterinary Journal 148: 129–132.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H. and Mainland, D. 1994. Manipulation of milk yield and lactation persistency; physiological and economic considerations. Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual meeting of the European Association for Animal Production, Edinburgh, pp. 112.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H., Stelwagen, K., Farr, V. C. and Davis, S. R. 1995. Use of an oxytocin analogue to determine cisternal and alveolar milk pool sizes in goats. Journal of Dairy Science In press.Google Scholar
Knight, C. H. and Wilde, C. J. 1993. Mammary cell changes during pregnancy and lactation. Livestock Production Science 35: 3–19.Google Scholar
Linzell, J. L. 1966. Measurement of udder volume in live goats as an index of mammary growth and function. Journal of Dairy Science 49: 307–311.Google Scholar
Linzell, J. L. 1972. Milk yield, energy loss in milk, and mammary gland weight in different species. Dairy Science Abstracts 34: 351–360.Google Scholar
Mepham, T. B. 1987. Physiology of Lactation. Open University Press, Milton Keynes.Google Scholar
Moore, K. L., Armstrong, J. D., Harvey, R. W., Campbell, R. M. and Heimer, E. P. 1992. Effect of active immunization against growth hormone releasing factor on concentrations of somatotrophin and insulin-like growth factor 1 in lactating beef cows. Domestic Animal Endocrinology 9: 125–139.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peaker, M. 1980. The effect of raised intramammary pressure on mammary function in the goat in relation to the cessation of lactation. Journal of Physiology 301: 415–428.Google Scholar
Peaker, M. and Blatchford, D. R. 1988. Distribution of milk in the goat mammary gland and its relation to the rate and control of milk secretion. Journal of Dairy Research 55: 41–48.Google Scholar
Sakai, S., Kohmoto, K. and Shoda, Y. 1985. Correlation between mammary prolactin receptors of lactating mice and litter weight. Journal of Dairy Science 68: 2565–2570.Google Scholar
Stelwagen, K., Davis, S. R., Farr, V. C., Prosser, C. G. and Sherlock, R. A. 1994. Mammaryepithelial cell tight junction integrity and mammary blood flow during an extended milking interval in goats. Journal of Dairy Science 77: 426–432.Google Scholar
Veerkamp, R. F., Simm, G. and Persaud, P. 1994. Potential value of linear type traits for the prediction of intake, efficiency and economic margins in dairy cattle. Livestock Production Science 38: 179–189.Google Scholar
Wilde, C. J., Addey, C. V. P., Boddy, L. M. and Peaker, M. 1995. Autocrine control of milk secretion: from concept to application. In Intercellular signalling in the mammary gland (ed. Wilde, C. J., Peaker, M. and Knight, C. H.). Plenum, Ayr pp. 227–237.Google Scholar
Wilde, C. J., Blatchford, D. R. and Peaker, M. 1991. Regulation of mouse mammary cell differentiation by extracellular milk proteins. Experimental Physiology 76: 379–387.Google Scholar
Wilde, C. J. and Knight, C. H. 1989. Metabolic adaptations in mammary gland during the declining phase of lactation. Journal of Dairy Research 72: 1679–1692.Google Scholar
Wilde, C. J., Knight, C. H., Addey, C. V. P., Blatchford, D. R., Travers, M., Bennett, C. N. and Peaker, M. 1990. Autocrine regulation of mammary cell differentiation. Protoplasma 159:112–117.Google Scholar
Zaks, M. G. 1962. The motor apparatus of the mammary gland. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh.Google Scholar