Association of UDP-galactose-4-epimerase with milk protein concentration in the Chinese Holstein population

Objective: An initial RNA-Sequencing study revealed that UDP-galactose-4-epimerase (GALE) was one of the most promising candidates for milk protein concentration in Chinese Holstein cattle. This enzyme catalyzes the interconversion of UDP-galactose and UDP-glucose, an important step in galactose catabolism. To further validate the genetic effect of GALE on milk protein traits, genetic variations were identified, and genotypes-phenotypes associations were performed.Methods: The entire coding region and the 5’-regulatory region (5’-UTR) of GALE were re-sequenced using pooled DNA of 17 unrelated sires. Association studies for five milk production traits were performed using a mixed linear animal model with a population encompassing 1,027 Chinese Holstein cows.Results: A total of three variants in GALE were identified, including two novel variants (g.2114 A>G and g.2037 G>A) in the 5’-UTR and one previously reported variant (g.3836 G>C) in an intron. All three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with milk yield (p<0.0001), fat yield (p = 0.0006 to <0.0001), protein yield (p = 0.0232 to <0.0001) and protein percentage (p<0.0001), while no significant associations were detected between the SNPs and fat percentage. A strong linkage disequilibrium (D’ = 0.96 to 1.00) was observed among all three SNPs, and a 5 Kb haplotype block involving three main haplotypes with GAG, AGC, and AGG was formed. The results of haplotype association analyses were consistent with the results of single locus association analysis (p<0.0001). The phenotypic variance ratio above 3.00% was observed for milk protein yield that was explained by SNP-g.3836G >C.Conclusion: Overall, our findings provided new insights into the polymorphic variations in bovine GALE gene and their associations with milk protein concentration. The data indicate their potential uses for marker-assisted breeding or genetic selection schemes.

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Genetic Analyses Confirm SNPs in HSPA8 and ERBB2 are Associated with Milk Protein Concentration in Chinese Holstein Cattle

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes10020104 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Cong Li ◽

Miao Wang ◽

Wentao Cai ◽

Shuli Liu ◽

Chenghao Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cattle ◽

Milk Production ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Genetic Effects ◽

Production Traits ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Milk Production Traits ◽

Chinese Holstein ◽

Tyrosine Kinase 2

Heat shock 70 kDa protein 8 (HSPA8) and erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2) were the promising candidates for milk protein concentration in dairy cattle revealed through previous RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) study. The objective of this post-RNA-Seq study was to confirm genetic effects of HSPA8 and ERBB2 on milk protein concentration in a large Chinese Holstein population and to evaluate the genetic effects of both genes on other milk production traits. There were 2 singlenucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified for HSPA8 and 11 SNPs for ERBB2 by sequencing 17 unrelated Chinese Holstein sires. The SNP-rs136632043 in HSPA8 had significant associations with all five milk production traits (p = 0.0086 to p < 0.0001), whereas SNP-rs132976221 was remarkably associated with three yield traits (p < 0.0001). Nine (ss1996900615, rs109017161, rs109122971, ss1996900614, rs110133654, rs109941438, rs110552983, rs133031530, and rs109763505) of 11 SNPs in ERBB2 were significantly associated with milk protein percentage (p = 0.0177 to p < 0.0001). A 12 Kb haplotype block was formed in ERBB2 and haplotype associations revealed similar effects on milk protein traits. Our findings confirmed the significant genetic effects of HSPA8 and ERBB2 on milk protein concentration and other milk production traits and SNP phenotypic variances above 1% may serve as genetic markers in dairy cattle breeding programs.

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Integrated Small RNA Sequencing, Transcriptome, and GWAS Data Reveal miRNA Regulation in Response to Milk Protein Traits in Chinese Holstein Cattle

10.21203/rs.3.rs-143526/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wentao Cai ◽

Cong Li ◽

Junya Li ◽

Jiuzhou Song ◽

Shengli Zhang

Keyword(s):

Protein Synthesis ◽

Rna Sequencing ◽

Small Rna ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Small Rna Sequencing ◽

Production Traits ◽

Economic Traits ◽

Chinese Holstein

Abstract Background: Milk protein is one of the most important economic traits in the milk industry. Our previous study has revealed some functional genes responsible for milk protein synthesis in mammals. Yet, the miRNA-mediated gene regulatory network for the synthesis of milk protein in mammary is poorly understood. Results: 12 samples from Chinese Holstein Cows with three too high and three low phenotypic values for milk protein percentage in lactation and non-lactating were examined through deep small RNA sequencing. By bioinformatics analysis, we characterized 387 known and 212 novel miRNAs in the mammary gland. Differentially expressed analysis detected 28 miRNAs in lactation and 52 miRNAs in the non-lactating period with a highly significant correlation with milk protein concentration. Target prediction and correlation analysis identified some key miRNAs and their targets potentially involved in the synthesis of milk protein. Using genome-wide association signal (GWAS) enrichment analysis among five milk production traits, we found the differentially expressed targets were significantly related to milk protein traits.Conclusions: This integrated study on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory profiles between significantly differential phenotype of milk protein concentration provides new insights into the mechanism of milk protein synthesis, which should reveal the regulatory mechanisms of milk secretion.

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SERPINA1 gene identified in RNA-Seq showed strong association with milk protein concentration in Chinese Holstein cows

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.8460 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e8460

Author(s):

Cong Li ◽

Wentao Cai ◽

Shuli Liu ◽

Chenghao Zhou ◽

Hongwei Yin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Holstein Cows ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Phenotypic Variance ◽

Rna Seq ◽

Chinese Holstein ◽

Link Type ◽

A Genome ◽

Chinese Holstein Cows

The detection of candidate genes and mutations associated with phenotypic traits is important for livestock animals. A previous RNA-Seq study revealed that SERPINA1 gene was a functional candidate that may affect milk protein concentration in dairy cows. To further confirm the genetic effect of SERPINA1 on milk protein traits, genetic polymorphisms were identified and genotype-phenotype associations were performed in a large Chinese Holstein cattle population. The entire coding region and the 5′-regulatory region (5′-UTR) of SERPINA1 was sequenced using pooled DNA of 17 unrelated sires. Association studies for five milk production traits were performed using a mixed model with a population encompassing 1,027 Chinese Holstein cows. A total of four SNPs were identified in SERPINA1, among which rs210222822 and rs41257068 presented in exons, rs207601878 presented in an intron, and rs208607693 was in the 5′-UTR. Analyses of pairwise D′ measures of linkage disequilibrium (LD) showed strong linkage among these four SNPs (D′ = 0.99–1.00), and a 9 Kb haplotype block involving three main haplotypes with GTGT, CCCC and CCGT was inferred. An association study revealed that all four single SNPs and their haplotypes had significant genetic effects on milk protein percentage, milk protein yield and milk yield (P = 0.0458 − < 0.0001). The phenotypic variance ratio for all 11 significant SNP-trait pairs ranged from 1.01% to 7.54%. The candidate gene of SERPINA1 revealed by our previous RNA-Seq study was confirmed to have pronounced effect on milk protein traits on a genome level. Two SNPs (rs208607693 and rs210222822) presented phenotypic variances of approximately 7% and may be used as key or potential markers to assist selection for new lines of cows with high protein concentration.

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Integrated Small RNA Sequencing, Transcriptome and GWAS Data Reveal microRNA Regulation in Response to Milk Protein Traits in Chinese Holstein Cattle

Frontiers in Genetics ◽

10.3389/fgene.2021.726706 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Wentao Cai ◽

Cong Li ◽

Junya Li ◽

Jiuzhou Song ◽

Shengli Zhang

Keyword(s):

Rna Sequencing ◽

Small Rna ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Target Prediction ◽

Small Rna Sequencing ◽

Production Traits ◽

Economic Traits ◽

Protein Percentage ◽

Chinese Holstein

Milk protein is one of the most important economic traits in the dairy industry. Yet, the regulatory network of miRNAs for the synthesis of milk protein in mammary is poorly understood. Samples from 12 Chinese Holstein cows with three high ( ≥ 3.5%) and three low ( ≤ 3.0%) phenotypic values for milk protein percentage in lactation and non-lactation were examined through deep small RNA sequencing. We characterized 388 known and 212 novel miRNAs in the mammary gland. Differentially expressed analysis detected 28 miRNAs in lactation and 52 miRNAs in the non-lactating period with a highly significant correlation with milk protein concentration. Target prediction and correlation analysis identified some key miRNAs and their targets potentially involved in the synthesis of milk protein. We analyzed for enrichments of GWAS signals in miRNAs and their correlated targets. Our results demonstrated that genomic regions harboring DE miRNA genes in lactation were significantly enriched with GWAS signals for milk protein percentage traits and that enrichments within DE miRNA targets were significantly higher than in random gene sets for the majority of milk production traits. This integrated study on the transcriptome and posttranscriptional regulatory profiles between significantly differential phenotypes of milk protein concentration provides new insights into the mechanism of milk protein synthesis, which should reveal the regulatory mechanisms of milk secretion.

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Integrated Small RNA Sequencing, Transcriptome, and GWAS Data Reveal miRNA Regulation in Response to Milk Protein Traits in Chinese Holstein Cattle

10.21203/rs.3.rs-142254/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wentao Cai ◽

Cong Li ◽

Junya Li ◽

Jiuzhou Song ◽

Shengli Zhang

Keyword(s):

Protein Synthesis ◽

Rna Sequencing ◽

Small Rna ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Small Rna Sequencing ◽

Production Traits ◽

Economic Traits ◽

Chinese Holstein

Abstract BackgroundMilk protein is one of the most important economic traits in the milk industry. Our previous study has revealed some functional genes responsible for milk protein synthesis in mammals. Yet, the miRNA-mediated gene regulatory network for the synthesis of milk protein in mammary is poorly understood. Results12 samples from Chinese Holstein Cows with three too high and three low phenotypic values for milk protein percentage in lactation and non-lactating were examined through deep small RNA sequencing. By bioinformatics analysis, we characterized 387 known and 212 novel miRNAs in the mammary gland. Differentially expressed analysis detected 28 miRNAs in lactation and 52 miRNAs in the non-lactating period with a highly significant correlation with milk protein concentration. Target prediction and correlation analysis identified some key miRNAs and their targets potentially involved in the synthesis of milk protein. Using genome-wide association signal (GWAS) enrichment analysis among five milk production traits, we found the differentially expressed targets were significantly related to milk protein traits.ConclusionsThis integrated study on the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory profiles between significantly differential phenotype of milk protein concentration provides new insights into the mechanism of milk protein synthesis, which should reveal the regulatory mechanisms of milk secretion.

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Effect of duodenal proline infusion on milk production and composition in dairy cows

Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s0003356100020298 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 53 (3) ◽

pp. 299-303 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

I. Bruckental ◽

I. Ascarelli ◽

B. Yosif ◽

E. Alumot

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cows ◽

Milk Yield ◽

Milk Fat ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Protein Yield ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Dietary Energy ◽

Arginine Uptake ◽

Friesian Cows

AbstractFour Israeli-Friesian cows, two at peak and two at mid lactation, were fitted with duodenal cannulas. They were given proline or water infusions for 8-day periods to evaluate the effect of duodenal infusion of proline on arginine uptake by the mammary gland and on milk yield and composition of dairy cows. Milk fat content and 40 g/kg fat-corrected milk yield increased for all cows due to proline infusion. Milk protein concentration during either early or mid lactation and milk protein yield during early lactation, were not affected by proline infusion. Milk protein yield during mid lactation was increased due to proline infusion. Arginine uptake by the udder dropped by one-half during proline infusion. Results suggest that post-ruminal administration of supplemental proline reduced requirements for arginine by the udder and improved efficiency of dietary energy utilization.

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Effect of rumen-protected methionine on feed intake, milk production, true milk protein concentration, and true milk protein yield, and the factors that influence these effects: A meta-analysis

Journal of Dairy Science ◽

10.3168/jds.2009-2693 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 93 (5) ◽

pp. 2105-2118 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

R.A. Patton

Keyword(s):

Milk Production ◽

Feed Intake ◽

Protein Concentration ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Protein Yield

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The Uterine Milk Protein (UTMP) gene is associated with milk production traits in Iranian Holstein bulls

Genetika ◽

10.2298/gensr1703969y ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (3) ◽

pp. 969-977

Author(s):

Ahad Yousefi ◽

Abdolreza Salehi ◽

Mehdi Aminafshar ◽

Sayyadnejad Bagher

Keyword(s):

Milk Production ◽

Milk Fat ◽

Milk Protein ◽

Growth Control ◽

Production Performance ◽

Protein Yield ◽

Production Traits ◽

Milk Production Traits ◽

Protease Inhibition ◽

Holstein Bulls

Uterine Milk Protein (UTMP) the member of Serine Protease Inhibitor superfamily secreted from uterine endometrium during pregnancy under influence of progesterone. Specific functions of UTMP include protease inhibition, growth control, and direct nutrition of the conceptus. This investigation was performed in order to study polymorphism of UTMP gene and its association with milk production traits in Iranian Holstein bulls. Genomic DNA was extracted from 100 semen samples of proven bulls. In order to amplify 568bp-fragment including same part of intron 3, whole exon 4 and downstream of UTMP gene, a pair of primer was designed. PCR products were digested with BsrI enzyme. The allele frequencies of a, b and c were 0.135, 0.69 and 0.175, respectively in studied population. Four genotypes AB, BB, BC and CC were observed with frequencies of 0.27, 0.49, 0.13 and 0.11, respectively. Genotypes AA and AC were not observed in this study. The chi-square (X2) test revealed deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Data were obtained from animal breeding centre of Iran for the first lactation during 1993-2008 to estimate some genetic parameters. Heritability of milk yield, fat yield, protein yield, fat percent and protein percent were 0.28, 0.21, 0.22, 0.32 and 0.34 respectively. Results indicated significant association between UTMP Genotypes and milk, fat and protein yield traits. Meanwhile, Bulls with CC Genotype had higher milk, fat and protein yield compared to other genotypes (p<0.05). These results suggested UTMP as a candidate gene influencing milk production traits might be implemented in breeding programs to improve the production performance of Iranian Holstein cattle.

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Association of bovineCD4andSTAT5bsingle nucleotide polymorphisms with somatic cell scores and milk production traits in Chinese Holsteins

Journal of Dairy Research ◽

10.1017/s0022029911000148 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 242-249 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Yanghua He ◽

Qin Chu ◽

Peipei Ma ◽

Yachun Wang ◽

Qin Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cattle ◽

Somatic Cell ◽

Milk Production ◽

Milk Yield ◽

Milk Fat ◽

Protein Yield ◽

Nucleotide Polymorphisms ◽

Production Traits ◽

Milk Production Traits ◽

Chinese Holstein

CD4+T cells play a key role in the immune response of pathogen-induced mastitis in dairy cattle. Mammary gland factor STAT5b is involved in the regulation of CD4+T cell differentiation during inflammatory response and milk production. Little is known about the genetic variation effects of bovineCD4andSTAT5bgenes on somatic cell score (SCS) and milk production traits in dairy cattle. The aim of the study was to investigate the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of bovineCD4andSTAT5bin Chinese Holsteins and to analyse their association with estimated breeding values (EBVs) for SCS and milk production traits. In the present study, SNPs ofCD4(NC_007303 g.13598C>T) andSTAT5b(NC_007317 g.31562 T>C) were identified and genotyped in Chinese Holstein population. The results showed that both SNPs were significantly associated with the EBVs for milk yield and protein yield in Chinese Holstein cows, and the SNP inCD4was associated with the EBV for SCS (P<0·01). The additive effect ofCD4SNP on protein yield was significant (P<0·05), and the dominant effect ofSTAT5bSNP was significant on milk yield and protein yield (P<0·01). Cows with combination genotype C7 (CCTT:CD4g.13598C>T andSTAT5bg.31562 T>C) had the highest SCS EBV but lower milk yield, while cows with C2 (TTTC) produced more milk, fat and protein than the other eight combination genotypes. These results suggested that the SNPs inCD4andSTAT5bmay be potential genetic markers for SCS and milk/protein yields selecting and warrant further functional research.

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