Investigating the Impact of Short-Term Environmental Stress on Telomere Length in Goats

Rapid environmental changes present novel challenges for animals, notably thermal stress, which triggers the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, elevating stress hormone levels. Prolonged stress can disrupt the body’s metabolic equilibrium, leading to increased oxidative damage and impacting vertebrate telomeres composed of repeats (TTAGGG), commonly associated with stressful conditions. To investigate the effects of short-term environmental stress on goats, ten multiparous individuals with free access to water and permanent pasture were selected for the study. Milk samples were collected throughout the lactation period to assess telomere length, providing insights into the potential impacts of stress on cellular aging and health. In addition to milk sampling, comprehensive meteorological data, including temperature, dew point, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation, were meticulously recorded from the Italian Meteorological Centre. These data sets enabled a detailed analysis of the relationship between environmental parameters and telomere length in goats. Telomere length, analyzed via qPCR, was found to be negatively correlated with both dew point (r = −0.676, p < 0.05) and relative humidity (r = −0.769, p < 0.01), underscoring the significant influence of environmental factors on cellular aging processes in goats. These findings offer valuable insights for farm management to minimize stress conditions impacting both animal health and production aspects. Biol. Life Sci. Forum 2024, 33, 1 30 of 52 In conclusion, the study highlights the importance of understanding the impact of environmental stress on telomere length in goats and suggests that managing environmental factors such as dew point and relative humidity could potentially mitigate the negative effects of stress on animal health and productivity.