Project description:The objective of our study was to assess the effect of fescue toxicosis on the overall transcriptomics profile of liver tissue on growing Angus × Simmental steers and heifers. The susceptibility was determined by the T-snip genetic tests for a total of 42 pregnant cows. At mid-gestation, these animals were randomly assigned to control group which received a based diet and fed endophyte free fescue seeds; a treatment group was fed endophyte-infected tall fescue seeds for 30 days. RNA-seq experiments were performed in liver biopsy samples, and a total of 828 differentially expressed genes were detected.
Project description:The objectives of our study were to identify microRNA (miRNA) present in bovine sperm and to evaluate the effects of fescue toxicosis on sperm miRNA expression. Angus bulls were assigned to treatments of either toxic or non-toxic fescue seed diets. Semen was collected and subjected to microRNA (miRNA) isolation after 126 days. Three bull's sperm miRNA samples from each treatment group were chosen and pooled for deep sequencing. Sequencing results were used to create a custom microarray for miRNA comparison between groups. LC Sciences was used as a service provider for the sequencing and custom microarray.
Project description:Fescue toxicosis is a disease of wild and domestic animals grazing on fescue pasture infected with the endophytic fungus, Neotyphodium Coenophialum. Mice, previously selected for increased sensitivity to endophyte-infected fescue seed diets indicated by slow weight gain, were used to study the effects of fescue toxicosis on hepatic gene expression. Liver genes differentially expressed due to fescue toxins were studied using DNA microarray. A two-stage ANOVA of microarray data identified forty differentially expressed genes between mice fed endophyte-infected (E+) and endophyte-free (E-) fescue seeds. Significant Analysis of Microarray (SAM) analysis identified 9 genes as differentially expressed between treatment groups. Hierarchical clustering with the 40 genes identified by ANOVA clearly separate the mice according to their diets, with 100% confidence as computed by bootstrap analysis. Expressions of eleven genes were verified using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). The E+ diet resulted in downregulation of genes involved in sex-steroid metabolism pathway, genes involved in cholesterol and lipid metabolism. Keywords = Endophyte Keywords = Fescue Toxicosis Keywords = microarray Keywords: repeat sample