Project description:Local breeds retained unique genetic variability important for adaptive potential especially in light of challenges related to climate change. Our objective was to perform, for the first time, a genome-wide diversity characterization using Illumina GoatSNP50 BeadChip of autochthonous Drežnica goat breed from Slovenia. Genetic diversity analyses revealed that the Slovenian Drežnica goat has a distinct genetic identity and is closely related to the neighboring Austrian and Italian alpine breeds. These results expand our knowledge on phylogeny of goat breeds from easternmost part of the European Alps.
Project description:In this study, two small RNA libraries were constructed using dry period and peak lactation dairy goat mammary gland tissues and sequenced by the Illumina Solexa high-throughput sequencing system. A total of 346 conserved and 95 novel miRNAs were identified in the dairy goat. The expression of miRNAs was confirmed by qRT-PCR in nine tissues and the mammary gland during development cycles. In addition, several candidate miRNAs that may be involved in mammary gland development and lactation were found by the comparison of miRNA expression profiles among different tissue and developmental stages of the mammary gland. This study provides the identification and profile of miRNAs related to the biology of the mammary gland in the dairy goat. The identification of these miRNAs could contribute to understanding the molecular mechanisms of lactation physiology and the development of the mammary gland in the dairy goat.
2014-12-31 | GSE41815 | GEO
Project description:A goat graph-based pangenome reveals structural variations involved in domestication and adaptation
Project description:Domestication caused significant differences in morphology and behavior between wild and domestic animals, and gene expression changes played an important role in this event. circRNA is a class of non-coding RNA that exerts a wide range of functions in biological processes through the regulation of gene expression. However, the regulatory role of circRNA in the process of domestication is still unclear. Here, we analyzed circRNA expression patterns in the prefrontal cortices of wild boar and domestic pig to determine the potential role of circRNAs in domestication. We identified a total of 11,375 circRNAs and found that 349 and 354 circRNAs were up-regulated in wild boar and Rongchang pig, respectively. This study lays the groundwork for exploring the regulatory role of circRNA in the process of domestication and provides new insights that contribute to further investigation of the molecular mechanism of pig domestication.
Project description:Background The goat (Capra hircus) represents one of the most important farm animal species. It is reared in all continents with an estimated world population of about 800 million of animals. Despite its importance, studies on the goat genome are still in their infancy compared to those in other farm animal species. Comparative mapping between cattle and goat showed only a few rearrangements in agreement with the similarity of chromosome banding. We carried out a cross species cattle-goat array comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) experiment in order to identify copy number variations (CNVs) in the goat genome analysing animals of different breeds (Saanen, Camosciata delle Alpi, Girgentana, and Murciano-Granadina) using a tiling oligonucleotide array with ~385,000 probes designed on the bovine genome. Results We identified a total of 161 CNVs (an average of 17.9 CNVs per goat), with the largest number in the Saanen breed and the lowest in the Camosciata delle Alpi goat. By aggregating overlapping CNVs identified in different animals we determined CNV regions (CNVRs): on the whole, we identified 127 CNVRs covering about 11.47 Mb of the virtual goat genome referred to the bovine genome (0.435% of the latter genome). These 127 CNVRs included 86 loss and 41 gain and ranged from about 24 kb to about 1.07 Mb with a mean and median equal to 90,292 bp and 49,530 bp, respectively. To evaluate whether the identified goat CNVRs overlap with those reported in the cattle genome, we compared our results with those obtained in four independent cattle experiments. Overlapping between goat and cattle CNVRs was highly significant (P<0.0001) suggesting that several chromosome regions might contain recurrent interspecies CNVRs. Genes with environmental functions were over-represented in goat CNVRs as reported in other mammals. Conclusions We describe a first map of goat CNVRs. This provides information on a comparative basis with the cattle genome by identifying putative recurrent interspecies CNVs between these two ruminant species. Several goat CNVs affect genes with important biological functions. Further studies are needed to evaluate the functional relevance of these CNVs and their effects on behavior, production, and disease resistance traits in goats.