Project description:The proteins of the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) have a number of functions, such as the regulation of milk fat secretion and metabolism, the uptake and transportation of fatty acids in the intestine and potential protection from bacterial or viral infection. While the proteome of the MFGM in bovine milk has been extensively characterised, our knowledge of these proteins in buffalo milk is limited. In this study, a proteomic approach was used to characterise the proteome of the buffalo MFGM. Multiple extraction techniques were employed to increase the coverage of proteins identified, while label free relative quantitative liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used for comparison between the buffalo and bovine MFGM proteome. A total of 220 buffalo MFGM proteins and 234 bovine MFGM proteins were identified after being filtered from the initial dataset of 757 and 680 proteins respectively. Significantly greater amounts of xanthine oxidoreductase, platelet glycoprotein 4, heat shock cognate and calcineurin B homologous protein were identified per mass of buffalo MFGM protein extracted. The higher expression of xanthine oxidase in the MFGM of buffalo milk was confirmed by Western blot analysis and a heterogeneous distribution of this protein observed in situ on the surface of the MFGM. The high concentration of fat in buffalo milk, together with the differences in the MFGM proteome indicate differences in the nutritional profile, biological function, and potential ease of processing of buffalo and bovine milk products.
Project description:The aim of the present study was to correlate lipid metabolism genes in the mammary gland tissue affected by stage of lactation and nutrition to the resulting milk fatty acids composition in grazing dairy cows, and to classify milk fatty acid (FA) groups based on variations in lipid metabolism gene expression patterns. Identifying the relationship between lipid metabolism genes in the mammary gland tissue and the resulting milk fatty acid composition is expected to greatly contribute to our understanding of milk fatty acid metabolism and to enhance opportunities to improve milk fat composition through nutrition. In fact, SNCA, SCD5, and PNPLA2 lipid metabolism-related genes affected by unsaturated fatty acids supplementation, were found to strongly correlated to different milk FA groups, but also contributed most to the classification of these FA groups, suggesting a significant role in mediating the lipid metabolism in the mammary gland tissue and determining the milk fatty acids composition.
Project description:The study reports a differential proteomic analysis of the Mediterranean buffalo milk to evaluate the changes induced by Staphylococcus spp. during a subclinical intramammary infection (IMI). A number of 12 quarter milk samples, 6 of which with somatic cell count (SCC) < 50,000 cells/mL and culture-negative, and the other 6 with SCC ˃ 3,000,000 cells/mL and culture-positive to Staphylococcus aureus (SAU, n=3), SAU, or non-aureus staphylococci (NAS, n=3) was selected. Samples were analyzed using a shotgun proteomics approach, based on filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) followed by LC-MS/MS and label-free analysis. Here, the largest buffalo milk protein dataset described so far was reported. Moreover, the results demonstrated that staphylococcal IMI mostly affected proteins involved in structural functions and in innate immune defense, with changes in their abundance that were generally more intense in SAU than in NAS samples. Further, an increase in the abundance of different cathelicidins was observed, as already reported for other animals with mastitis disease (1,2). (1) Addis MF, Pisanu S, Marogna G, Cubeddu T, Pagnozzi D, Cacciotto C, et al. Production and release of antimicrobial and immune defense proteins by mammary epithelial cells following Streptococcus uberis infection of sheep. Infect Immun. 2013;81: 3182–3197. (2) Addis MF, Tedde V, Dore S, Pisanu S, Puggioni GMG, Roggio AM, et al. Evaluation of milk cathelicidin for detection of dairy sheep mastitis. J Dairy Sci. Elsevier; 2016;99: 6446–6456. In conclusion, our results provide the first in depth characterization of buffalo milk proteins, describe the changes induced by SAU and NAS subclinical intramammary infection and suggest indications to reveal subclinical staphylococcal mastitis in buffalo by the milk proteome investigation.
Project description:The aim of the present study was to correlate lipid metabolism genes in the mammary gland tissue affected by stage of lactation and nutrition to the resulting milk fatty acids composition in grazing dairy cows, and to classify milk fatty acid (FA) groups based on variations in lipid metabolism gene expression patterns. Identifying the relationship between lipid metabolism genes in the mammary gland tissue and the resulting milk fatty acid composition is expected to greatly contribute to our understanding of milk fatty acid metabolism and to enhance opportunities to improve milk fat composition through nutrition. In fact, SNCA, SCD5, and PNPLA2 lipid metabolism-related genes affected by unsaturated fatty acids supplementation, were found to strongly correlated to different milk FA groups, but also contributed most to the classification of these FA groups, suggesting a significant role in mediating the lipid metabolism in the mammary gland tissue and determining the milk fatty acids composition. A total of 28 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in mid-lactation were blocked according to parity (2.4 ± 0.63 years), days in milk (DIM; 153 ± 32.8 days), milk yield (25.7 ± 3.08 kg/d) and fat content (4.3 ± 0.12%). Cows were then randomly assigned to four UFA-sources based on rapeseed, soybean, linseed or a mixture of the three oils for 23 days (Period I) after which, all 28 cows were switched to a control diet for an additional 28 days (Period II). On the last day of both periods, mammary gland biopsies were taken to study genome-wide differences in lipid metabolism gene expression.
Project description:In this study, Mediterranean buffalo semen was used as experimental material, and quantitative proteomics and phosphorylation modification techniques were used to analyze the proteins and phosphorylation sites of Mediterranean buffalo sperm with different motility, so as to further study the protein functions affecting sperm motility, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the regulatory network related to sperm motility and improving the sperm quality and fertilization ability of Mediterranean buffalo.
Project description:The Italian island of Sardinia is well known in studies of human population isolates. It is also home to the Fonni's Dog, a breed of canine whose development was reliant on the functionality of the dog. Using genome-wide variant and sequence analyses, we have characterized the Fonni's Dog relative to 27 other dog breeds from the Mediterranean region. We determine introgression events relevant to Mediterranean breed development and describe how the Fonni's dog presents an intriguing model demonstrating the characteristics of traditional human population isolates and, in particular, exhibiting the unique demographic composition of the people of Sardinia.
Project description:The Italian island of Sardinia is well known in studies of human population isolates. It is also home to the Fonni's Dog, a breed of canine whose development was reliant on the functionality of the dog. Using genome-wide variant and sequence analyses, we have characterized the Fonni's Dog relative to 27 other dog breeds from the Mediterranean region. We determine introgression events relevant to Mediterranean breed development and describe how the Fonni's dog presents an intriguing model demonstrating the characteristics of traditional human population isolates and, in particular, exhibiting the unique demographic composition of the people of Sardinia.
Project description:The Italian island of Sardinia is well known in studies of human population isolates. It is also home to the Fonni's Dog, a breed of canine whose development was reliant on the functionality of the dog. Using genome-wide variant and sequence analyses, we have characterized the Fonni's Dog relative to 27 other dog breeds from the Mediterranean region. We determine introgression events relevant to Mediterranean breed development and describe how the Fonni's dog presents an intriguing model demonstrating the characteristics of traditional human population isolates and, in particular, exhibiting the unique demographic composition of the people of Sardinia.
Project description:Previous work has demonstrated that elevated maternal lipid intake (particularly from dairy products) is associated with increased lipids and altered fatty acid profile in milk produced by healthy lactating women. We investigate our primary hypothesis that a maternal diet rich in full-fat dairy products would simultaneously increase milk lipid percent and expression of genes related to the uptake and/or de novo biosynthesis of milk lipids.