Project description:To investigate the potential effect of grazing movement on miRNA circulation in cattle, here we profiled miRNA expression in centrifugally prepared exosomes from the plasma of both grazing and housed Japanese Shorthorn cattle. Microarray analysis of the c-miRNAs resulted in detection of a total of 231 bovine exosomal miRNAs in the plasma, with a constant expression level of let-7g across the duration and cattle groups. Expression of muscle-specific miRNAs such as miR-1, miR-133a, miR-206, miR-208a/b, and miR-499 were undetectable, suggesting the mildness of grazing movement as exercise. Changes in miRNA expression in plasma exosome of cattle was measured at during 0, 1, 2 and 4 months of grazing or housing. Plasma exosome samples prepared from three cattle for each treatment were collected and mixed within the treatment at each time for microarray analysis .
Project description:To investigate the potential effect of grazing movement on miRNA circulation in cattle, here we profiled miRNA expression in centrifugally prepared exosomes from the plasma of both grazing and housed Japanese Shorthorn cattle. Microarray analysis of the c-miRNAs resulted in detection of a total of 231 bovine exosomal miRNAs in the plasma, with a constant expression level of let-7g across the duration and cattle groups. Expression of muscle-specific miRNAs such as miR-1, miR-133a, miR-206, miR-208a/b, and miR-499 were undetectable, suggesting the mildness of grazing movement as exercise.
Project description:Infertility is a disease that affects humans and cattle in similar ways. The resemblance includes complex genetic architecture, multiple etiology, low heritability of fertility related traits in females, and the frequency in the female population. Here, we used cattle as a biomedical model to test the hypothesis that gene expression profiles of protein-coding genes expressed in peripheral white blood cells (PWBCs), and circulating micro RNAs in plasma, are associated with female fertility, measured by pregnancy outcome. We drew blood samples from 17 female calves on the day of artificial insemination and analyzed transcript abundance for 10496 genes in PWBCs and 290 circulating micro RNAs. The females were later classified as pregnant to artificial insemination, pregnant to natural breeding or not pregnant. We identified 1860 genes producing significant differential coexpression (eFDR<0.002) based on pregnancy outcome. Additionally, 237 micro RNAs and 2274 genes in PWBCs presented differential coexpression based on pregnancy outcome. Furthermore, using a machine learning prediction algorithm we detected a subset of genes whose abundance could be used for blind categorization of pregnancy outcome. Our results provide strong evidence that bloodborne transcript abundance is highly associated with fertility in females.
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.