Epithelial, metabolic and innate immunity transcriptomic signatures differentiating the rumen from other sheep and mammalian gastrointestinal tract tissues.

ABSTRACT: Background. Ruminants are successful herbivorous mammals, in part due to their specialized forestomachs, the rumen complex, which facilitates the conversion of feed to soluble nutrients by micro-organisms. Is the rumen complex a modified stomach expressing new epithelial (cornification) and metabolic programs, or a specialised stratified epithelium that has acquired new metabolic activities, potentially similar to those of the colon? How has the presence of the rumen affected other sections of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of ruminants compared to non-ruminants? Methods. Transcriptome data from 11 tissues covering the sheep GIT, two stratified epithelial and two control tissues, was analysed using principal components to cluster tissues based on gene expression profile similarity. Expre

SUBMITTER: Xiang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4793311 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature