Entschlüsselung der Mechanismen für den Erhalt der Gebärmuttergesundheit und Widerstandsfähigkeit bei Milchkühen unter Hitzestressbedingungen

Global warming is a serious concern in dairy cattle farming because resulting heat stress affects animal health and welfare and is a major cause of low productivity. New insights into resilience mechanisms in the reproductive tract provide the basis for improving and developing preventive measures against heat stress and its sequelae. Information on potential associations between heat stress exposure and pathophysiological mechanisms in the reproductive tract is largely missing, in particular with regard to heat stress under central European conditions. With our study, we follow the overall goal to support Lower Austrian Farmers to fulfil their mission of supplying the domestic population with healthy and high-quality food in a resource-efficient manner. The project is structured into three workpackages (WPs) with the aims to • Investigate the in vivo effect of heat stress on inflammation and microbial infection in the postpartum bovine uterus under climatic conditions, typical for lower Austria (WP1). • Investigate the in vitro effects of differential heat exposure conditions on the immune response of bovine endometrial epithelial cells co-cultivated with pathogenic and commensal bacteria (WP2). • Develop a predictive model for heat stress and its sequelae for the early detection and monitoring of heat stress in dairy cows (WP3). The project combines innovative microbiological and molecular methods with profound information on the clinical phenotype of cows and sensor data. The project profits from a new cooperation and an interdisciplinary team with team members in different stages of their career. The integrated analysis of data from individual animals and their environments will open new avenues for the prevention of diseases, for improving animal welfare and farm economics. Our proposed holistic approach follows the overall goal of maintaining resource-efficient and sustainable agriculture, which is an actual topic with socio-economic relevance.