Project description:Bovine mastitis is an inflammatory disease of the mammary gland with serious economic implications for dairy industries worldwide. We performed total RNA sequencing using whole blood cells collected from multiparous Holstein Friesian dairy cows with naturally occurring mastitis to investigate the changes in systemic gene expression and their association with inflammatory responses. Some related sequencing data are deposited in E-MTAB-9347 and E-MTAB-9348.
Project description:We report the results of MIRA-Seq based high-throughput profiling of the bovine dermal fibroblast methylome from two different breeds of cattle (n=4/breed) to determine the breed-dependent differences in methylation.
Project description:The decreased rate of pregnancy obtained in cattle using frozen in vitro embryos compared to in vivo embryos has been associated with over-accumulation of intracellular lipid, which causes cell damage during cryopreservation. It is believed that the higher lipid content of blastomeres of bovine embryos produced in vitro results in darker coloured cytoplasm which could be a consequence of impaired mitochondrial function. In this study, L-carnitine was used as a treatment to reduce embryonic lipid content by increasing metabolism in cultured bovine embryos. We have observed previously that in vivo embryos of different dairy breed collected from cows housed and fed under the same conditions differed in lipid content and metabolism. As such, breed effects between Holstein and Jersey were also accounted for general appearance, lipid composition, mitochondrial activity and gene expression. Adding L-carnitine to the embryo culture medium reduced the lipid content in both breeds due to increased mitochondrial activity. L-carnitine vs controls, in 4 replicates for each breed, with dye-swaps.
Project description:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that participate in regulation of gene expression. Their role during mammary gland development is still largely unknown. In the present study, we performed a microarray analysis to identify miRNAs associated with high mammogenic potential of bovine mammary gland. We identified 54 miRNAs differing significantly between mammary tissue of dairy (Holstein-Friesian, HF) and beef (Limousine, LM) post-pubertal heifers. Fifty two miRNAs had higher expression in the mammary tissue of LM heifers. Enrichment analyses for targeted genes revealed that the major differences between miRNA expression in the mammary gland of HF vs. LM were associated with regulation of signalling pathways crucial for mammary gland development, such as: TGF-beta, insulin, WNT and inflammatory pathways. Moreover, a number of genes potentially targeted by differentially expressed miRNAs was associated with mammary stem cells’ activity. These data indicate that in dairy cattle high developmental potential of the mammary gland, leading to high milk productivity, not only depends on central neuro-endocrine regulation but also on specific miRNA expression pattern. miRNA profiling of Holstein Freisian (dairy breed) and Limousne heifers (beef breed) mammay glands. Two-condition experiment, LM (test) vs. HF (reference). Total RNA was isolated from quarters of 4 LM and 4 HFmammary glands.
Project description:Feed restriction and L-carnitine infusion are known to affect the liver metabolism of dairy cows. In the present experiment the effects on liver transcriptome of feed restriction and L-carnitine abomasal infusion and the interaction of the two in mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows was assessed. Data clearly indicated a lack of transcriptomics effect by L-carnitine but a strong effect due to feed restriction. The functional analysis identified a overall reduction of cholesterol synthesis and oxidative phosphorylation and data suggested an increase flux toward gluconeogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. The liver biopsy was performed after 14 days of treatment in 8 Holstein dairy cows in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangment with 5 days washout between treatments. A dye-swap reference design (reference = mixture of RNA from several bovine tissues) was used.
Project description:The decreased rate of pregnancy obtained in cattle using frozen in vitro embryos compared to in vivo embryos has been associated with over-accumulation of intracellular lipid, which causes cell damage during cryopreservation. It is believed that the higher lipid content of blastomeres of bovine embryos produced in vitro results in darker coloured cytoplasm which could be a consequence of impaired mitochondrial function. In this study, L-carnitine was used as a treatment to reduce embryonic lipid content by increasing metabolism in cultured bovine embryos. We have observed previously that in vivo embryos of different dairy breed collected from cows housed and fed under the same conditions differed in lipid content and metabolism. As such, breed effects between Holstein and Jersey were also accounted for general appearance, lipid composition, mitochondrial activity and gene expression. Adding L-carnitine to the embryo culture medium reduced the lipid content in both breeds due to increased mitochondrial activity.
Project description:Liver plays a profound role in the acute phase response (APR) observed in the early phase of acute bovine mastitis caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). To gain an insight into the genes and pathways involved in hepatic APR of dairy cows we performed a global gene expression analysis of liver tissue sampled at different time points before and after intra-mammary (IM) exposure to E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment. Experiment Overall Design: Eight healthy, high yielding Holstein-Friesian dairy cows in their first lactation (9 to 12 weeks after calving) were chosen for this study. At time 0 the right front quarter was infused with 200 μg E. coli LPS dissolved in 10 ml 0.9% NaCl solution, the left front quarter serving as control was infused with 10 ml 0.9% NaCl solution. Liver biopsies were taken at â22, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 48 hours relative to LPS infusion in 4 cows, and also at â22, 9 and 48 hours in the remaining 4 cows. RNA from liver biopsies was isolated and biotin labeled cRNA was loaded onto the Affymetric GeneChip Bovine Genome Array. A control study using cows infused with 0.9% NaCl showed that there was no effect of taking the biopsy, neither in the clinical measurement nor in the expression of a selected subset of genes. Therefore, only samples taken from the LPS treated cows were measured for the gene expression using microarrays.