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To our knowledge, most research demonstrating a link between maternal nutrition and both fetal growth and offspring development after birth has been performed with nonruminants. Whether such relationships exist in large ruminants is largely unknown.

We aimed to investigate whether increasing the methionine supply during late pregnancy would alter uteroplacental tissue nutrient transporters and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and their relation with newborn body weight.

Multiparous Holstein cows were used in a randomized complete block design experiment. During the last 28 d of pregnancy, cows were fed a control diet or the control diet plus ethylcellulose rumen-protected methionine (0.9 g/kg dry matter intake) (Mepron; Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH) to achieve a 2.8:1 ratio of lysine to methionine in the metabolizable protein reaching the small intestine. We collected …