Impact of breed and sex on porcine endocrine transcriptome: a bayesian biometrical analysis.
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ABSTRACT: Background
Transcriptome variability is due to genetic and environmental causes, much like any other complex phenotype. Ascertaining the transcriptome differences between individuals is an important step to understand how selection and genetic drift may affect gene expression. To that end, extant divergent livestock breeds offer an ideal genetic material.Results
We have analyzed with microarrays five tissues from the endocrine axis (hypothalamus, adenohypophysis, thyroid gland, gonads and fat tissue) of 16 pigs from both sexes pertaining to four extreme breeds (Duroc, Large White, Iberian and a cross with SinoEuropean hybrid line). Using a Bayesian linear model approach, we observed that the largest breed variability corresponded to the male gonads, and was larger than at the remaining tissues, including ovaries. Measurement of sex hormones in peripheral blood at slaughter did not detect any breed-related differences. Not unexpectedly, the gonads were the tissue with the largest number of sex biased genes. There was a strong correlation between sex and breed bias expression, although the most breed biased genes were not the most sex biased genes. A combined analysis of connectivity and differential expression suggested three biological processes as being primarily different between breeds: spermatogenesis, muscle differentiation and several metabolic processes.Conclusion
These results suggest that differences across breeds in gene expression of the male gonads are larger than in other endocrine tissues in the pig. Nevertheless, the strong presence of breed biased genes in the male gonads cannot be explained solely by changes in spermatogenesis nor by differences in the reproductive tract development.
SUBMITTER: Perez-Enciso M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2656523 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Background: Transcriptome variability is due to genetic and environmental causes, much like any other complex phenotype. Ascertaining the transcriptome differences between individuals is an important step to understand how selection and genetic drift may affect gene expression. To that end, extant divergent livestock breeds offer an ideal genetic material. Results: We have analyzed with microarrays five tissues from the endocrine axis (hypothalamus, adenohypophysis, thyroid gland, gonads and fat tissue) of 16 pigs from both sexes pertaining to four extreme breeds (Duroc, Large White, Iberian and a cross with SinoEuropean hybrid line). Using a Bayesian linear model approach, we observed that the largest breed variability corresponded to the male gonads, and was larger than at the remaining tissues, including ovaries. Measurement of sex hormones in peripheral blood at slaughter did not detect any breed-related differences. Not unexpectedly, the gonads were the tissue with the largest number of sex biased genes. There was a strong correlation between sex and breed bias expression, although the most breed biased genes were not the most sex biased genes. A combined analysis of connectivity and differential expression suggested three biological processes as being primarily different between breeds: spermatogenesis, muscle differentiation and several metabolic processes. Conclusion: These results suggest that differences across breeds in gene expression of the male gonads are larger than in other endocrine tissues in the pig. Nevertheless, the strong presence of breed biased genes in the male gonads cannot be explained solely by changes in spermatogenesis nor by differences in the reproductive tract development.
2009-02-12 | GSE14739 | GEO
Project description:Background: Transcriptome variability is due to genetic and environmental causes, much like any other complex phenotype. Ascertaining the transcriptome differences between individuals is an important step to understand how selection and genetic drift may affect gene expression. To that end, extant divergent livestock breeds offer an ideal genetic material. Results: We have analyzed with microarrays five tissues from the endocrine axis (hypothalamus, adenohypophysis, thyroid gland, gonads and fat tissue) of 16 pigs from both sexes pertaining to four extreme breeds (Duroc, Large White, Iberian and a cross with SinoEuropean hybrid line). Using a Bayesian linear model approach, we observed that the largest breed variability corresponded to the male gonads, and was larger than at the remaining tissues, including ovaries. Measurement of sex hormones in peripheral blood at slaughter did not detect any breed-related differences. Not unexpectedly, the gonads were the tissue with the largest number of sex biased genes. There was a strong correlation between sex and breed bias expression, although the most breed biased genes were not the most sex biased genes. A combined analysis of connectivity and differential expression suggested three biological processes as being primarily different between breeds: spermatogenesis, muscle differentiation and several metabolic processes. Conclusion: These results suggest that differences across breeds in gene expression of the male gonads are larger than in other endocrine tissues in the pig. Nevertheless, the strong presence of breed biased genes in the male gonads cannot be explained solely by changes in spermatogenesis nor by differences in the reproductive tract development. Experiment Overall Design: Sixteen animals, four from each of four breeds, Large White (LW), Duroc (DU), Youli (YL) and Iberian (IB) piglets were sampled. These breeds represent a wide genetic variability in current pig breeding schemes. There were two males and two females per breed except in Youli, represented by three males and one female. Animals were bought from three breeding companies and transferred to the University experimental farms at weaning, i.e., aged one month approximately. Pigs were housed simultaneously, fed the same diets during the fattening period, that lasted two months, and were weighed at weekly intervals. At the time of slaughter, the average ages were 87, 83, 80 and 89 days for Large White, Duroc, Youli and Iberian pigs, respectively. Their mean live weights at that time were 27.2 (LW), 23.1 (DU), 18.9 (YL) and 17.4 kg (IB). Experiment Overall Design: Animals were euthanized, after 24h fasting, by an overdose of intravenous sodium thiobarbital. At necropsy, tissue samples were collected, snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80 ºC. The average time gap between euthanasia and tissue collection was ~ 15 minutes, maximum time was 25 minutes. The tissues collected were hypothalamus (HYPO), adenohypophysis (AHYP), which was separated from the neurohypophysis, thyroid gland (THYG), gonads (GONA) from both sexes, and back fat tissue (FATB). The hypothalamus included the mamillary body and grey tubercle but excluded the chiasma opticum. Throughout this work, each sample was identified by the acronym of the tissue followed by the animal id, e.g., FATBLWF1 refers to back fat tissue from female 1 Large White.
2009-02-21 | E-GEOD-14739 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle is one of the most important economic traits in agricultural animals, especially in pigs. In the modern pig industry, lean type pigs have undergone strong artificial selection for muscle growth, which has led to remarkable phenotypic variations compared with fatty type pigs, making these different breeds an ideal model for comparative studies. RESULTS: Here, we present comprehensive gene expression profiling for the white (longissimus dorsi muscle) and the red (psoas major muscle) skeletal muscles among male and female fatty Rongchang, feral Tibetan and lean Landrace pigs, using a microarray approach. We identified differentially expressed genes that may be associated the phenotypic differences of porcine muscles among the breeds, between the sexes and the anatomical locations. We also used a clustering method to identify sets of functionally coexpressed genes that are linked to different muscle phenotypes. We showed that, compared with the white muscles, which primarily modulate metabolic processes, the red muscles show a tendency to be a risk factor for inflammation and immune-related disorders. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis presents breed-, sex- and anatomical location-specific gene expression profiles and further identified genes that may be associated with the phenotypic differences in porcine muscles among breeds, between the sexes and the anatomical locations.
| S-EPMC3703266 | biostudies-literature
Project description:In this study, the influence of several factors such as breed, sex, and production stage over the normal range values of salivary biomarkers of health status was evaluated in pigs. A total of 409 pigs of 2 different breeds (conventional Large White × Duroc and Iberian pigs) were included in the study. Animals were divided into different groups according to their sex (male or female) and the stage of the production cycle they were in (post-weaning, nursery, fattening, and finishing). The levels of an inflammatory marker, adenosine deaminase (ADA), and two acute phase proteins, C-reactive protein (CRP) and haptoglobin (Hp) were measured in saliva samples. Moreover, the total antioxidant capacity level (TAC) was quantified for the first time in porcine saliva; therefore, an analytical validation and stability analysis during storage at -80°C were also performed. Differences according to breed were observed for all the markers studied; thus, the influence of age and sex on the normal range values were studied separately for conventional and Iberian pigs. In Large White × Duroc pigs the overall median values of ADA, CRP, Hp and TAC were 282 U/L, 10.49 ng/mL, 0.88 μg/mL, and 21.73 μM Trolox equivalents, respectively. However, higher values of inflammatory marker and acute phase proteins were observed in males at the initial stages of the production cycle, while females presented higher values when they had reached sexual maturity. In Iberian pigs the overall median values observed were 585 U/L, 4.81 ng/mL, 0.63 μg/mL, and 21.21 μM Trolox equivalents for ADA, CRP, Hp, and TAC respectively with slight differences in the influence of the studied factors. Sex differences were not observed in the levels of acute phase proteins in Iberian pigs, probably due to the castration of males during the first days of life; however, ADA levels were found to be higher in male pigs at the end of the production cycle. It could be concluded that breed, sex, and production stage influence the range values of salivary markers of health status in pigs and should be taken into account to further establish reference intervals.
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Project description:Mercury, a ubiquitous toxic element, is known to alter expression of sex steroids and to impair reproduction across vertebrates but the mechanisms underlying these effects are not clearly identified. We examined whether contamination by mercury predicts the probability to skip reproduction in black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from Svalbard. We also manipulated the endocrine system to investigate the mechanism underlying this relationship. During the pre-laying period, we injected exogenous GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) to test the ability of the pituitary to release luteinizing hormone (LH, a key hormone for the release of sex steroids and hence breeding) in relation to mercury burden. Birds that skipped reproduction had significantly higher mercury concentration in blood than breeders. Endocrine profiles of these birds also varied based on breeding status (breeders versus non-breeders), mercury contamination and sex. Specifically, in skippers (birds that did not breed), baseline LH decreased with increasing mercury concentration in males, whereas it increased in females. GnRH-induced LH levels increased with increasing mercury concentration in both sexes. These results suggest that mercury contamination may disrupt GnRH input to the pituitary. Thus, high mercury concentration could affect the ability of long-lived birds to modulate their reproductive effort (skipping or breeding) according to ongoing environmental changes in the Arctic, thereby impacting population dynamics.
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