Project description:This research investigates the influence of nutritional protein restriction (NPR) during prepuberty on FE and the milk transcriptome of dairy Assaf ewes during their first lactation. Additionally, it evaluates the differences in the milk transcriptome between lactating ewes with divergent FE using the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI) indices and assesses milk gene expression as a predictor of FE.
Project description:In Poland, conducted for years porcine breeding works focused on improving meat content in the carcass without undertaken to accomplish the more effectiveness of fattening indicators that impact on feed efficiency. At present, feeding and feed conversion became important factors that are especially evident in the countries where the production of fattening pigs is conducted in large farms. In the present study, was attempted to indicate pituitary candidate genes depending on feed conversion ratio (FCR) in native Polish pig breed, Złotnicka White. The whole pituitary transcriptome was sequenced using next-generation sequencing technology. The obtained results show the differences in gene expression for pathways associated with hormonal regulation and also with Notch and Wnt signaling. Moreover, it was observed that worse FCR in Złotnicka pigs was associated with a higher fat level in a carcass and a significant higher level of prolactin expression in the pituitary.
Project description:Improvement of feed efficiency would increase profitability of the poultry industries by decreasing the amount of feed required for production. Korat (KR) chicken is a new alternative meat-type chicken breed which its meat is recognized for its high protein, low fat and low purine content, whereas its low feed efficiency leads to high cost of production. Deeper understanding on how feed efficiency influences meat quality is poorly elucidated. To fulfill deeper understand molecular key that point the variation in feed efficiency and meat quality, the aim of this study was to investigate molecular pathways and genes involved in feed efficiency and meat quality in thigh of slow-growing KR chicken. A total of 75 males KR chicken were reared in individual cage until 10 weeks of age. Individual feed intake and body weight were collected weekly to calculate Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and Residual Feed Intake (RFI). Meat quality parameters were measured in thigh muscles such as ultimate pH (pHu), water-holding capacity (WHC), drip loss (DL), nucleotides content and several biomolecules (amide, …). Base on extreme values of FCR at 10 weeks of ages, 12 birds from the high FCR group (HFCR) and 9 birds from the low FCR group (LFCR) were selected for investigating their transcriptome using an 8×60K Agilent chicken microarray. In addition, a weighted gene coexpression network analysis was performed to detect the relationship between modules of co-expressed genes and feed efficiency, meat quality in thigh muscle. The result in this study indicated that selection on feed efficiency (FCR, RFI) would affect flavor precursor, lipid and protein content in thigh muscle. Based on WGCNA and functional enrichment analysis, results suggested that the key molecular pathways relate to FCR, RFI and meat quality (WHC, DL, IMP, AMP and inosine) in thigh muscle were the pathways of regulation of biological process, biological regulation and regulation of metabolic. Moreover, we revealed four genes there are assembly competence domain (ACD) gene, baculoviral IAP repeat containing 5 (BIRC5) gene, cytochrome c oxidase assembly factor 3 (COA3) gene and myosin light chain 9 (MYL9) gene that might be biomarker gene in feed efficiency and meat quality in thigh muscle. The hypothesis of the current study was alteration feed efficiency in slow-growing chicken will impact meat quality especially in term of texture and flavor.
Project description:Despite the existence of a number of studies investigating the effect of insect meal on the growth performance of broilers, knowledge about the metabolic effects of insect meal in broilers is still scarce. Thus, the present study investigated the effect of partial replacement of soybean meal with Hermetia illucens (HI) larvae meal on the liver transcriptome, the plasma metabolome and the cecal microbiome in broilers. For the study, 72 male one-day-old Cobb 500 broilers were divided into three groups (n = 12) and fed three different diets with either 0% (HI0), 7.5% (HI7.5) or 15% (HI15) defatted HI meal for 35 d. While body weight (BW) gain, feed intake, and feed:gain ratio did not differ between groups, breast muscle weight, carcass yield and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of 12 amino acids were higher in group HI15 than in group HI0 (P > 0.05). Indicators of α-diversity (Chao1 and Observed) in the cecal digesta were higher in groups HI15 and HI7.5 than in group HI0 (P < 0.05). The abundance of 5 families and 18 genera, all of which belonged to the Firmicutes phylum, in the cecal digesta differed among groups (P < 0.05). Concentrations of butyric acid, valeric acid and isobutyric acid in the cecal digesta were lower in group HI15 than in the other two groups (P > 0.05), whereas those of total and other short-chain fatty acids were not different between groups. Liver transcriptomics revealed a total of 70 and 61 differentially expressed transcripts between groups HI15 vs. HI0 and between groups HI7.5 vs HI0, respectively, (P > 0.05). Targeted metabolomics identified 138 metabolites, most of which were triglyceride species, being different between the three groups (FDR < 0.05). According to this study, dietary inclusion of HI larvae meal has no detrimental impact but increases breast muscle weight and carcass weight in broilers suggesting that HI larvae meal can be recommended as a sustainable alternative protein source for broilers.
Project description:Interactions among genomic loci have often been overlooked in genome-wide association studies, revealing the combinatorial effects of variants on phenotype or disease manifestation. Unexplained genetic variance, interactions amongst causal genes of small effects, and biological pathways could be identified using a network biology approach. The main objective of this study was to determine the genome-wide epistatic variants affecting feed efficiency traits [feed conversion ratio (FCR) and residual feed intake (RFI)] based on weighted interaction SNP hub (WISH-R) method. Herein, we detected highly interconnected epistatic SNP modules, pathways, and potential biomarkers for the FCR and RFI in Duroc and Landrace purebreds considering the whole population, and separately for low and high feed efficient groups. Highly interacting SNP modules in Duroc (1,247 SNPs) and Landrace (1,215 SNPs) across the population and for low feed efficient (Duroc - 80 SNPs, Landrace - 146 SNPs) and high feed efficient group (Duroc - 198 SNPs, Landrace - 232 SNPs) for FCR and RFI were identified. Gene and pathway analyses identified ABL1, MAP3K4, MAP3K5, SEMA6A, KITLG, and KAT2B from chromosomes 1, 2, 5, and 13 underlying ErbB, Ras, Rap1, thyroid hormone, axon guidance pathways in Duroc. GABBR2, GNA12, and PRKCG genes from chromosomes 1, 3, and 6 pointed towards thyroid hormone, cGMP-PKG and cAMP pathways in Landrace. From Duroc low feed efficient group, the TPK1 gene was found involved with thiamine metabolism, whereas PARD6G, DLG2, CRB1 were involved with the hippo signaling pathway in high feed efficient group. PLOD1 and SETD7 genes were involved with lysine degradation in low feed efficient group in Landrace, while high feed efficient group pointed to genes underpinning valine, leucine, isoleucine degradation, and fatty acid elongation. Some SNPs and genes identified are known for their association with feed efficiency, others are novel and potentially provide new avenues for further research. Further validation of epistatic SNPs and genes identified here in a larger cohort would help to establish a framework for modelling epistatic variance in future methods of genomic prediction, increasing the accuracy of estimated genetic merit for FE and helping the pig breeding industry.
Project description:The gut microbiome is significantly altered in inflammatory bowel diseases, but the basis of these changes is not well understood. We have combined metagenomic and metatranscriptomic profiling of the gut microbiome to assess changes to both bacterial community structure and transcriptional activity in a mouse model of colitis. Gene families involved in microbial resistance to oxidative stress, including Dps/ferritin, Fe-dependent peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase, were transcriptionally up-regulated in colitis, implicating a role for increased oxygen tension in gut microbiota modulation. Transcriptional profiling of the host gut tissue and host RNA in the gut lumen revealed a marked increase in the transcription of genes with an activated macrophage and granulocyte signature, suggesting the involvement of these cell types in influencing microbial gene expression. Down-regulation of host glycosylation genes further supports a role for inflammation-driven changes to the gut niche that may impact the microbiome. We propose that members of the bacterial community react to inflammation-associated increased oxygen tension by inducing genes involved in oxidative stress resistance. Furthermore, correlated transcriptional responses between host glycosylation and bacterial glycan utilisation support a role for altered usage of host-derived carbohydrates in colitis. Complementary RNA-seq and DNA-seq data sets of the microbiome from this study have also been deposited at ArrayExpress under accession number E-MTAB-3562 ( http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/experiments/E-MTAB-3562/ ).
Project description:The lean and fat broilers were derived from the 21st generation of the Northeast Agricultural University broiler lines divergently selected for abdominal fat content (NEAUHLF). In brief, broilers in the two lines (lean line and fat line) of the NEAUHLF have the same Arbor Acres ancestry, but were divergently selected by the concentration of very low-density lipoprotein and abdominal fat percentage (AFP) at 7 weeks old. After 21 generations of selection, there is over a 10-fold difference in abdominal fat percentage between the two lines, representing a classical obese-lean-study model. At age of 7 weeks, ten male individuals of each line were selected randomly to investigate the interactions between gut microbiome, host gene expression and obesity.
Project description:How pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) depends on the complex interplay of host genetics, microbiome and the immune system is not fully understood. Here, we showed that Downstream of Kinase 3 (DOK3), an adaptor protein involved in immune signaling, confers protection of mice from dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. DOK3-deficiency promotes gut microbial dysbiosis and enhanced colitis susceptibility, which can be reversed by the transfer of normal microbiota from wild-type mice. Mechanistically, DOK3 exerts its protective effect by suppressing JAK2/STAT3 signaling in colonic neutrophils to limit their S100a8/9 production, thereby maintaining gut microbial ecology and colon homeostasis. Hence, our findings reveal that the immune system and microbiome function in a feed-forward manner, whereby DOK3 maintains colonic neutrophils in a quiescent state to establish a gut microbiome essential for intestinal homeostasis and protection from IBD.