Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1995,
55: 101-103
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production. 1995,
55: 101-103
Seventy-four yearling Angus cattle from the Waikite weight selection and control herds were blood sampled after a 24-h fast in July, September and November 1993 (heifers twice, bulls three times; n=178 samples). Plasma cholesterol concentrations averaged 2.73 and 2.91 (s.e.d. 0.08) mmol/l in the two herds, respectively (P<0.05), and triglyceride concentrations averaged 0.296 and 0.316 (s.e.d. 0.015) mmol/l, respectively. There was a 30kg (14%) difference in yearling live weight between the two herds (P.001). Both metabolites showed moderate between-animal repeatabilities, 0.52+0.11 and 0.37+0.16 respectively, and there was a positive phenotypic correlation of 0.40 between cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations within herds.
These results show that a 14% higher weight-for-age as a result of selection was associated with a 6% lower plasma cholesterol concentration. This was consistent with our previously observed cholesterol difference in cooked beef from the same herds.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; cholesterol; triglyceride; plasma; cattle; Angus; weight; selection lines
