{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T12:45:08Z","timestamp":1791895508805,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791849600000},"content-version":"am","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>This 3-year study evaluated the effects of gestational access to shade on maternal performance, vaginal microbiome composition, and offspring preweaning performance in beef cows. On day 0 of each year (92 \u00b1 20 days prepartum), 176 multiparous, pregnant Brangus crossbred beef cows (25 to 37.5% Bos indicus) were stratified by bull, body weight (BW; 548 \u00b1 51\u2009kg) and body condition score (BCS; 5.52 \u00b1 0.70; scale of 1 to 9), and randomly assigned to 1 of 16 bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum) pastures (11 cows and 8.1\u2009ha per pasture). Treatments were randomly assigned to pastures on day 0 of each year (8 pastures per treatment) and consisted of cows provided (SH) or not (NSH) access to artificial shade (3.27 m2 per cow) from day 0 to 90. Cows were provided free-choice access to artificial shade from day 91 until calf weaning on day 330 (240 \u00b1 20 days of age). Non-binary and binary data were analyzed as a complete randomized study using the MIXED and GLIMMIX procedure of SAS, respectively. Effects of treatment \u00d7 day \u00d7 year and treatment \u00d7 year were not detected (P \u2265 0.11) for any variable, except for calf preweaning BW (P = 0.01). Shade access improved (P \u2264 0.05) cow BCS on days 30, 60, and 150 and modified plasma metabolites, including lower cortisol on day 30 and greater glucose and IGF-1 but lower urea nitrogen on day 60. Shade also reduced (P \u2264 0.05) body surface and rectal temperatures on day 60, respiration rates, and intravaginal temperatures from 1000 to 1400\u2009h. Plasma non-esterified fatty acids, whole blood mRNA expression of heat shock proteins, and reproductive success did not differ (P \u2265 0.12) between treatments. Relative abundance of Blautia and Methanobrevibacter on day 30 were greater (P \u2264 0.05) in SH vs. NSH cows. At birth, gestational access to shade did not impact (P \u2265 0.41) calf plasma cortisol and serum immunoglobulin G but increased (P \u2264 0.05) calf plasma haptoglobin and BW. At weaning, calf BW was greater (P \u2264 0.04) in year 1 but was less (P = 0.05) in years 2 and 3 for NSH vs. SH calves. In conclusion, gestational shade access improved maternal thermoregulation, body condition, and metabolic profile, while modestly shifting the prepartum vaginal microbiome. These maternal responses were accompanied by greater calf birth weight, although weaning performance varied by year, underscoring the dynamic nature of gestational heat stress impacts in subtropical grazing systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/jas\/skag335","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T11:33:14Z","timestamp":1791891194000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Gestational heat stress alters maternal vaginal microbiome, plasma metabolic markers, and preweaning offspring performance in\n                    <i>Bos indicus<\/i>\n                    -influenced cow-calf pairs"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"given":"Vinicius S","family":"Izquierdo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida, IFAS \u2013 Range Cattle Research and Education Center , Ona, FL 33865,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cassio C","family":"Brauner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida, IFAS \u2013 Range Cattle Research and Education Center , Ona, FL 33865,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luciana M","family":"Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida, IFAS \u2013 Range Cattle Research and Education Center , Ona, FL 33865,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cecilia C","family":"Rocha","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Missouri , Southwest Research, Extension, and Education Center, Mt Vernon, MO 65712,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jimena","family":"Laporta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, , Madison, WI 53706,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francisco","family":"Pe\u00f1agaricano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, , Madison, WI 53706,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mario","family":"Binelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida University of Florida, Department of Animal Sciences, , Gainesville, FL, 32610,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jo\u00e3o H J","family":"Bittar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida , College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole C","family":"Burdick Sanchez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Livestock Issues Research Unit, ARS-USDA , Lubbock, TX 79403,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Reinaldo F","family":"Cooke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Texas A&M University Department of Animal Science, , College Station, TX 77843,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jo\u00e3o M B","family":"Vendramini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center , Stephenville, TX 76401,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Philipe","family":"Moriel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Florida, IFAS \u2013 Range Cattle Research and Education Center , Ona, FL 33865,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"container-title":["Journal of Animal Science"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jas\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/jas\/skag335\/71904253\/skag335.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"am","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jas\/advance-article-pdf\/doi\/10.1093\/jas\/skag335\/71904253\/skag335.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T11:47:11Z","timestamp":1791892031000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/jas\/advance-article\/doi\/10.1093\/jas\/skag335\/8913757"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/jas\/skag335","relation":{},"ISSN":["0021-8812","1525-3163"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0021-8812","type":"print"},{"value":"1525-3163","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]]},"article-number":"skag335"}}