Whole blood transcriptome of cattle supplemented with a beta-1 adrenergic agonist

Beta adrenergic agonists are fed to livestock to increase growth efficiency and improve carcass composition. These supplements act through adrenergic signalling, a pathway also invoked during stress. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in the transcriptome of whole blood of cattle by comparing samples taken after 35 days of supplement to samples taken the day prior to initiating supplementation to test the hypothesis that inflammatory (stress-related) pathways would be upregulated due to this supplement. These data are important to understanding how beta-agonists fed to livestock may impact an animal's ability to respond to stressors and to gain insight into how they alter genome function.