Project description:Microarray technologies,which can measure the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously are useful in understanding global gene networks and identifying novel genes and functional gene classes.The adipose depots may have various adipogenic state-specific genes and regulations of adipose accretion patterns in beef cattle.Therefore,the purpose of this study was to examine the molecular mechanisms of longissimus dorsi muscle,subcutaneous and abdominal adipose tissue depots in a native Chinese yellow breed by identifying differentially expressed genes using Bovine Genome Array.The GO and pathway analysis further validated differentially expressed genes identified in array analysis.
Project description:The Gayal (Bos frontalis) is a rare semi-domesticated cattle in China. Gayal has typical beef body shape and good meat production performance. Compared with other cattle species, it has the characteristics of tender meat and extremely low fat content. To explore the underlying mechanism responsible for the differences of meat quality between different breeds, the longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) from Gayal and Banna cattle (Bos taurus) were investigated using transcriptome analysis. The gene expression profiling identified 638 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between LM muscles from Gayal and Banna cattle. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment of biological functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the gene products were mainly involved in the PPAR signaling pathway, lipid metabolism and amino acid metabolism pathway. Protein-protein interaction（PPI） network analysis showed APOB, CYP7A1, THBS2, ITGAV, IGFBP1 and IGF2R may have great impact on meat quality characteristics of Gayal. Moreover, three transcription factors, FOXA2, NEUROG2, and RUNX1, which may affect meat quality by regulating the expression of genes related to muscle growth and development have also been found. In summary, our research reveals the molecular mechanisms that cause Gayal meat quality characteristics. It will contribute to improving meat quality of cattle through molecular breeding.
