Project description:To identify transcriptional markers for beef traits related to meat tenderness and moisture, we measured the transcriptome of the Longissimus dorsi skeletal muscle in 10 Korean native cattle (KNC). We analyzed the correlation between the beef transcriptome and measurements of four different beef traits, shear force (SF), water holding capacity (WHC), cooking loss (CL), and loin eye area (LEA). We obtained non-overlapping and unique panels of genes showing strong correlations (|r| > 0.8) with SF, WHC, CL, and LEA, respectively. Functional studies of these genes indicated that SF was mainly related to energy metabolism, and LEA to rRNA processing. Interestingly, our data suggested that WHC is influenced by protein metabolism. Overall, the skeletal muscle transcriptome pointed to the importance of energy and protein metabolism in determining meat quality after the aging process. The panels of transcripts for beef traits may be useful for predicting meat tenderness and moisture. Experiment Overall Design: Gene expression profiles were correlated with beef traits measured at the same cattle.
Project description:We profiled blood transcriptomics of 24 beef steers at three important stages (Entry: on arrival at the feedlot; Pulled: when sickness is identified; and Close-out: recovered, healthy cattle at shipping to slaughter) to reveal the key biological functions and regulatory factors of BRD and identify gene markers of BRD for early diagnosis and potentially use in selection.
Project description:Wandong cattle are an autochthonous Chinese breed used extensively for beef production. The breed tolerates extreme weather conditions and raw feed and are resistant to tick-borne diseases. However, the genetic basis of testis development and sperm production as well as breeding management is not well established in local cattle. In this study, we performed total RNA-Seq and comprehensively analyzed the circ-RNA expression profiling of the testes samples of six bulls at 3 years and 3 months of developmental age. In total, 17 013 circ-RNAs were identified, of which 681 circRNAs (P-adjust < 0.05) were differentially expressed (DE). Among these DE circ-RNAs, 579 were upregulated and 103 were downregulated in calf and bull testes. The Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the identified target genes were classified into three broad functional categories, including biological process, cellular component, and molecular function, and were enriched in the lysine degradation, cell cycle, and cell adhesion molecule pathways.
Project description:To evaluate how commonly-utilized antimicrobials affect the host transcriptome of commercial beef cattle overtime, we enrolled 105 feedlot beef steers randomly into seven different treatment groups (negative control, tulathromycin, tildipirosin, enrofloxacin, florfenicol, ceftiofur, oxytetracycline) to receive a one-time label dose of a commercial antimicrobial or not (negative control), and collected jugular whole blood into PAXgene RNA blood tubes at six time points: Day 0 (baseline), 3, 7, 14, 21, and 56.
