Project description:The sheep (Ovis aries) plays a major socio-economic role in the world. Copy number variations (CNVs) are increasingly recognized as a key and potent source of genetic variation and phenotypic diversity, but little is known about the extent to which CNVs contribute to genetic variation in Chinese sheep breeds. Analyses of CNVs in the genomes of eight sheep breeds were performed using the sheep SNP50 BeadChip genotyping array. A total of 111 CNV regions (CNVRs) were obtained from 160 Chinese sheep breeds. These CNVRs covered 13.75 Mb of the sheep genome sequence. A total of 22 Go terms and 17 candidate genes were obtained from the functional analysis. Ten CNVRs were selected for validation, of which 7 CNVRs were further experimentally confirmed by quantitative PCR. Four candidate genes were selected to confirm the results of the functional analysis. These results provide a resource for furthering understanding of ruminant biology, and for further improving the genetic quality of sheep breeds.
Project description:We carried out a cross species cattle-sheep array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) experiment in order to identify copy number variations (CNVs) in the sheep genome analysing animals of Italian dairy breeds (Sarda, Bagnolese, Laticauda, Massese and Valle del Belice) using a tiling oligonucleotide array with ~385,000 probes designed on the bovine genome. We identified 135 CNV regions (CNVRs) covering about 10.5 Mb of the virtual sheep genome referred to the bovine genome (0.398%) with a mean and median equal to 77.6 kb and 55.9 kb, respectively. A comparative analysis between the identified sheep CNVRs and those reported in the cattle and goat genomes indicated that overlaps between sheep and goat and sheep and cattle CNVRs are highly significant (P<0.0001) suggesting that several chromosome regions might contain recurrent interspecies CNVRs. Many sheep CNVs affect genes with important biological functions. Further studies are needed to evaluate the functional relevance of these CNVs.
Project description:Tail fat in sheep (Ovis aries), has evolved mainly in response to cold weather for better energy storage. As things stand, too much tail fat in sheep can lead to a reduction in feed utilisation and is also unpopular with consumers due to the excessive fat content in the tail of sheep. Therefore, the need to find the mechanism of tail fat formation is obvious. In this study, we elected to utilise Kazakh sheep, prolific Suffolk sheep, and their hybrid F2 generation as research objects. Sheep transcriptome sequencing technology was employed to screen and explore target candidate genes related to sheep tail fat deposition. Comparison with RNA-seq data from fat-tailed and thin-tailed tissue, the LncRNA-mRNA-miRNA axis was identified as main functional pathway in the formation of fat in tail. Our results offer valuable insights into the fat deposition of sheep and provide a significant genomic resource for future genetic studies and the enhancement of genome-assisted breeding in sheep and other domestic animals.
Project description:Body weight (BW) is a critical economic trait for meat production in sheep. The current study aimed to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with BW in Hu sheep.
Project description:11,431 and 4,992 genes were determined in whole blood of healthy human volunteers and normal sheep, respectively following MPLA and LPS exposure Following the exposure 1,029 human and 175 sheep genes were differentially expressed. Of those 175 sheep genes, 54 had a known human ortolog. The major inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1-6-8, TNFa, NFkB, ETS2, PTGS2, PTX3, CXCL18, KYNU, and CLEC4E were similarly (>2-fold) upregulated in both human and sheep blood.
Project description:Examination the DNA methylation statues of the main subpopulation of Chinese Mongolian sheep. A high quality methylome of Chinese Mongolian sheep was obtained, and established a list of DMRs potentially association with sheep body size
Project description:This experiment compared gene expression in the duodenum of [1] weaned genetically resistant sheep and weaned genetically susceptible sheep (84 days old) [2] genetically resistant sheep and genetically susceptible sheep that have been naturally challenged once with nematodes (175 days old) and [3] genetically resistant sheep and genetically susceptible sheep that have been naturally challenged twice with nematodes (276 days old). Keywords: resistant v susceptible
Project description:We performed a genome-wide analysis of mRNAs and lncRNAs from Small Tail Han sheep of genotypes FecBBFecBB (Han BB) and FecB+ FecB+ (Han++) and from Dorset sheep (Dorset) to identify potential regulators of fecundity. An integrated analysis revealed significantly correlated patterns of expression. Dramatic changes of mRNAs and lncRNAs suggest their critical roles in sheep fecundity. This study provides a novel view of the regulatory mechanisms involved in sheep fecundity.