LATSAN is a project by the MAPS department with the aim of understanding phenotypic, genomic and transcriptomic mechanisms that are the basis of mastitis in dairy cattle. Another important purpose of the project is to identify new indicators related to udder health and milk quality referred to as the proteic profile.

The project

National public and private organisations are contributing to the LATSAN project, which is being led by the Department of Animal Science, Nutrition and Food of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. MAPS’s partners are the IZSVe, based in Legnaro, the Regional Breeders Association and four companies in the Veneto region.

To reach the goals, three different milk samples times have been extracted at different times during the research. The first two were from healthy bovines and the third was taken from bovines that had been treated with intramammary antibiotics at the start of the project. Every sample led to different examination and analysis from all the institutions involved in the project. These included:

• Bacteriological examination to evaluate MInimal antibiotic inhibitory concentration
• Milk composition evaluation through spectroscopy and indicators of udder health
• Counts of somatic and differential cells
• Blood sampling to genotype animals, subject of the study, and evaluation of blood metabolites

Near these intentions was made a questionnaire in companies too to collect information about the milking process, udder health, the presence of infectious and immunosuppressive agents, therapies and drugs and posology used.

At the end of the project, in 2020, the various parties provided new indicators to the breeders and organisations involved that could provide better solutions for the evaluation and understanding of milk quality and udder health. This would encourage companies to have better awareness about their farms and animals. Moreover the acknowledges which were acquired let the firm know the economic, not invasive, shorter time of work so to reach animal welfare and then genetic improvement.