While dairy nutrition research often focuses on the rumen, new work from the University of Saskatchewan is turning attention to another key area—the gut barrier.
Claire Bertens, a graduate researcher in the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources, studies how environmental and nutritional stressors affect gut health in lactating dairy cows.
Raised on a dairy farm near Olds, Alberta, Bertens developed an early connection to the dairy industry. That experience helped shape her research interests and career path.
Studying Stress and the Gut Barrier
Bertens’ doctoral research focuses on how stress affects the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract.
Common stressors include heat stress, illness, and periods of reduced feed intake. These challenges can weaken the gut barrier. When this happens, bacteria from the digestive tract may enter the bloodstream and trigger inflammation.
“My PhD research focuses on understanding how stressors like heat stress, illness and reduced feed intake affect the integrity of the gut barrier in lactating dairy cows,” Bertens said. “My goal is to identify nutritional strategies that can prevent or mitigate this condition.”
A New Tool to Measure Gut Leakiness
Studying gut health in cattle presents unique challenges. Cows have both a rumen and an intestinal tract, which makes it difficult to identify where digestive leakiness begins.
To address this issue, Bertens developed a method called the dual permeability marker technique.
This approach helps researchers distinguish between leakiness in the intestines and permeability across the entire digestive tract. The technique provides a clearer picture of how different stressors affect gut function.
Using this method, Bertens found that heat stress and reduced feed intake primarily increase leakiness in the intestines.
Exploring Nutritional Solutions
Bertens conducts her research in the lab of Dr. Greg Penner at the University of Saskatchewan. Penner serves as the Centennial Enhancement Chair in Ruminant Nutritional Physiology.
The research team studies cattle nutrition, digestive physiology, and gut function.
Part of Bertens’ work focuses on nutritional strategies that may help maintain gut integrity. In one study, she found that feeding calcium-magnesium carbonate reduced intestinal leakiness during heat stress.
The compound works similarly to antacids used by people to reduce stomach acidity.
Unexpected Links Between Gut Health and Mastitis
During her research, Bertens also observed a surprising relationship between gut permeability and mastitis.
When researchers induced mammary inflammation, intestinal leakiness actually decreased. The finding suggests that interactions between organ systems may play a role during disease.
Researchers are now using the dual permeability marker technique to explore these connections further.
Looking Toward On-Farm Applications
As Bertens prepares to defend her PhD dissertation, she hopes the research will lead to practical tools for producers.
Her team is working to adapt the dual permeability marker technique for potential on-farm use.
“We hope to adapt the technique so producers, nutritionists and veterinarians can diagnose suspected leaky gut more easily,” Bertens said. “That would allow them to apply appropriate treatment strategies and evaluate their effectiveness.”
