Project description:The snow sheep, Ovis nivicola, which is endemic to the mountain ranges of northeastern Siberia, are well adapted to the harsh cold climatic conditions of their habitat. In this study, using long reads of Nanopore sequencing technology, whole-genome sequencing, assembly, and gene annotation of a snow sheep were carried out. Additionally, RNA-seq reads from several tissues were also generated to supplement the gene prediction in snow sheep genome. The assembled genome was ∼2.62 Gb in length and was represented by 7,157 scaffolds with N50 of about 2 Mb. The repetitive sequences comprised of 41% of the total genome. BUSCO analysis revealed that the snow sheep assembly contained full-length or partial fragments of 97% of mammalian universal single-copy orthologs (n = 4,104), illustrating the completeness of the assembly. In addition, a total of 20,045 protein-coding sequences were identified using comprehensive gene prediction pipeline. Of which 19,240 (∼96%) sequences were annotated using protein databases. Moreover, homology-based searches and de novo identification detected 1,484 tRNAs; 243 rRNAs; 1,931 snRNAs; and 782 miRNAs in the snow sheep genome. To conclude, we generated the first de novo genome of the snow sheep using long reads; these data are expected to contribute significantly to our understanding related to evolution and adaptation within the Ovis genus.
Project description:the hypothalamus tissues of high-reproduction small-tailed Han sheep and low-reproduction Wadi sheep were collected, and full-length transcriptome sequencing by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) was performed to explore the key functional genes associated with sheep fecundity. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened and enriched using DESeq2 software through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).
Project description:To test if LEDGF/p75 influences distribution of Maedi-visna virus (MVV) integration sites, we infected sheep CPT3, LKO1 (PSIP1-null), LHKO1 and LHKO2 (PSIP1/HDGFL2-null) cells with MVV-derived vector. Genomic DNA was isolated from infected cells, and chromosomal junctions at integrated U5 vDNA ends were amplified using linker-mediated PCR, sequenced using Illumina technology and mapped to sheep genome.
Project description:Milk and dairy products are an essential food and an economic resource in many countries. Milk component synthesis and secretion by the mammary gland involve expression of a large number of genes whose nutritional regulation remains poorly defined. We aim at understanding the genomic influence on milk quality and synthesis by comparing two sheep breeds, with different milking attitude, Sarda and Gentile di Puglia, using sheep-specific microarray technology. From sheep ESTs deposited at NCBI, we generated the first annotated microarray developed for sheep with a covering of most of the genome.
Project description:Lack of resistance to pink snow mould (Microdochium nivale) is seen as a major constraint for adaptation of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) at higher latitudes. Plants generally become more resistant to snow moulds after cold acclimation, and almost all investigations of genetic variation in resistance have been performed using cold acclimated plants. However, there may be variation in resistance mechanisms that are functioning independently of cold acclimation. In this study our aim was to identify candidate genes involved in such resistance mechanisms. We first characterized variation in resistance to M. nivale among non-acclimated plants of eight genotypes from the Norwegian cultivar Fagerlin and selected one resistant and one susceptible genotype for transcriptome analysis. Total RNA was extracted from leaf blade tissue of plants exposed to three different treatments: non-inoculated and non-incubated plants, non-inoculated plants after four days of incubation, and inoculated plants after four days of incubation. cDNA libraries were prepared and paired-end sequencing performed using Illumina Hiseq 2000. Transcriptome profiles, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis indicate that defence response related genes are differentially expressed between incubated non-inoculated and incubated inoculated conditions both within resistant and susceptible genotypes. A significant up-regulation of defence related genes as well as genes involved in cell wall cellulose metabolic processes and aryl-alcohol dehydrogenase (NADP+) activity was observed in the resistant genotype. The candidate genes identified in this study might be potential molecular marker resources for breeding perennial ryegrass cultivars with improved resistance to pink snow mould.