Diagnostic assay for the causative allele for Jersey Neuropathy with Splayed Forelimbs.

The genetic defect Jersey Neuropathy with Splayed Forelimbs (JNS) was recently identified by the American Jersey Cattle Association ((AJCA), AJCA 2020). Affected calves are born alive but show several symptoms including being unable to stand on splayed forelimbs and neurologic symptoms including spasticity of head and neck and convulsive behavior. While a missense variant in UCLH1 chromosome 6 60,158,901G->A is the likely causative allele no commercial diagnostic assay currently is offered. Therefore, an animal's JNS status is currently based on a diagnostic SNP haplotype, which is not 100% accurate. To provide a more accurate carrier status information, we developed an in-house diagnostic test for the JNS causative allele. The assay information is provided below to allow diagnostic labs across the globe to quickly implement a causative allele diagnostic test and offer it to their local Jersey producers.

SNPs in Mammary Gland Epithelial Cells Unraveling Potential Difference in Milk Production Between Jersey and Kashmiri Cattle Using RNA Sequencing

Deep RNA sequencing experiment was employed to detect putative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in mammary epithelial cells between two diverse cattle breeds (Jersey and Kashmiri) to understand the variations in the coding regions that reflect differences in milk production traits. The low milk-producing Kashmiri cattle are being replaced by crossbreeding practices with Jersey cattle with the aim of improving milk production. However, crossbred animals are prone to infections and various other diseases resulting in unsustainable milk production. In this study, we tend to identify high-impact SNPs from Jersey and Kashmiri cows (utilizing RNA-Seq data) to delineate key pathways mediating milk production traits in both breeds. A total of 607 (442 SNPs and 169 INDELs) and 684 (464 SNPs and 220 INDELs) high-impact variants were found specific to Jersey and Kashmir cattle, respectively. Based on our results, we conclude that in Jersey cattle, genes with high-impact SNPs were enriched in nucleotide excision repair pathway, ABC transporter, and metabolic pathways like glycerolipid metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and amino acid synthesis (glycine, serine, and threonine). Whereas, in Kashmiri cattle, the most enriched pathways include endocytosis pathway, innate immunity pathway, antigen processing pathway, insulin resistance pathway, and signaling pathways like TGF beta and AMPK which could be a possible defense mechanism against mammary gland infections. A varied set of SNPs in both breeds, suggests a clear differentiation at the genomic level; further analysis of high-impact SNPs are required to delineate their effect on these pathways.

Neutrophil and CD4+ milk cell count related to natural incidence of mastitis in Jersey cattle

This Research Communication describes the relation between somatic cells and microbial content in milk from Jersey cattle. Milk samples were classified in groups: healthy, dirty and mastitic (from Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Coliforms). The somatic cells in each of those groups were analysed by two methods – flow cytometric and automatic fluorescent cell counting. Those methods were compared. Total somatic cell count (SCC), neutrophil count, and lymphocytes with cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4+cells) were determined. There was a positive relationship between microbes and somatic cells. It was noticed that the neutrophil count was generally increased together with SCC, whilst the CD4+ cell count was higher in healthy milk samples (about 8%) compared to mastitic ones (about 3%). Lower number of CD4+ cells (from 1 to 4%) was determined in samples positive for Staphylococcus spp. but with lower SCC (from 2.7 to 4.0 × 105 cells/ml). Also, the number of CD4+ cells in Staphylococcus spp.-positive samples increased (to 4.8%) together with higher SCC, something that was not observed in the other mastitic samples. Knowledge of those relations could be useful for veterinary medical tests in the initial phase of inflammation.

Comparison of Non Linear Models and Artificial Neural Network to Describe the Liveweight from Birth to Maturity in Female Jersey Cattle

Evaluation of growth data is an important strategy to manage gross feed requirement in female Jersey cattle in the New Derived Guinea Savannah Zone of Nigeria. Two non-linear functions (Gompertz and Logistic) and Neural network models were used to fit liveweight (LW)-age data using the non linear procedure of JMP statistical software. Data used for this study were collected from 150 Jersey female cattle in Shonga Dairy Farm, Kwara, State from 2010-2018. The Neural network function showedthe best goodness of fit. Both the Gompertz and Logistic functions overestimated LW at birth, 3, 36, 48, 60 and 72months respectively. NN function overestimated the LW at 0, 3, 24, 36 and 72 months. The Gompertzfunction had the best estimation of asymptotic weight (649.51 kg) with average absolute growth rate (0.061 kg/day).The inflection point was 15.95, 9.55 and 34.5 months in Logistic, Gompertz and neural network models, respectively. A strong and positive correlation was observed between asymptote and inflection point in Gompertz functions. The metrics of goodness of fit criteria (R2 and RMSE), showed that NN with multilayer perceptron was superior to the other models but Gompertz model, was best in its ability to approximate complex functions of growth curve parametersin female Jersey cattle.

Involvement of the VEGF signaling pathway in immunosuppression and hypoxia stress: analysis of mRNA expression in lymphocytes mediating panting in Jersey cattle under heat stress

Background Extreme panting under heat stress threatens dairy cattle milk production. Previous research has revealed that the gas exchange-mediated respiratory drive in critically ill dairy cattle with low O2 saturation induces panting. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling may play important roles in immunosuppression and oxidative stress during severe respiratory stress responses in heat-stressed cattle. The objectives of this study were to transcriptomically analyze mRNA expression mediating heat-induced respiratory stress-associated panting, evaluate gas exchange, screen hub genes, and verify the expression of proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes in lymphocyte pathways. Results Jersey cattle were naturally heat-exposed. Physiological data were collected for response evaluation, and blood was collected for gas exchange and gene expression assays at 06:00, 10:00 and 14:00 continuously for 1 week. Lymphocytes were isolated from whole-blood samples for mRNA-seq and expression analysis of key pathway genes/proteins. The cattle respiration rates differed with time, averaging 51 bpm at 06:00, 76 bpm at 10:00, and 121 bpm at 14:00 (p < 0.05). Gas exchange analysis showed that both pH and pCO2 differed with time: they were 7.41 and 41 mmHg at 06:00, 7.45 and 37.5 mmHg at 10:00, and 7.49 and 33 mmHg at 14:00, respectively (p < 0.01). Sixteen heat-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 13 upregulated and 3 downregulated) were screened between 212 DEGs and 1370 heat stress-affected genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) hub gene functional analysis annotated eleven genes to signal transduction, six genes to the immune response, and five genes to the endocrine response, including both prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and VEGF. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis revealed that oxygen regulation was associated with the phosphorus metabolic process, response to oxygen levels, response to decreased oxygen levels, response to hypoxia and cytokine activity terms. The main signaling pathways were the VEGF, hypoxia inducible factor-1(HIF-1), cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and TNF pathways. Four genes involved Integrin beta 3 (ITBG3), PTGS2, VEGF, and myosin light chain 9 (MYL9) among the 16 genes related to immunosuppression, oxidative stress, and endocrine dysfunction were identified as participants in the VEGF signaling pathway and oxygenation. Conclusion These findings help elucidate the underlying immune and oxygen regulation mechanisms associated with the VEGF signaling pathway in heat-stressed dairy cattle.

Evaluation of Reproductive Performance of Jersey Cattle Raised under Semi-intensive Management in Ethiopia

Background: The productivity and profitability of dairy cattle depend largely on reproductive performance. Thus, this study was intended to evaluate the reproductive performance of Jersey cattle raised under semi-intensive management system.Methods: A retrospective analysis consisted of data collected for the last 33 years was conducted. The fixed effects fitted were birth period, calving period, service period, birth season, calving season, service season, parity and genetic group. The general linear model procedure of SAS was used for the statistical analysis of data. Result: The overall least-square means for age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), days open (DO) and the number of services per conception (NSPC) were 22.93±0.22 months, 32.95±0.22 months, 494.16±3.68 days, 221.09±3.73 days and 1.99±0.03, respectively. Year, season and parity had a significant effect on most of the investigated reproductive traits. Imported Jersey cows had an extended CI and DO than farm-bred cows. Besides, the inconsistency of management and variability of climatic variables across year and season seems to have a considerable influence on the reproductive efficiency of cows. Therefore, the improvement in the level of management and selection of parents based on their breeding value would be improve the reproductive performance of Jersey cows.

Involvement of the VEGF Signaling Pathway in Immunosuppression and Hypoxia Stress: Analysis of mRNA Expression in Lymphocytes Mediating Panting in Jersey Cattle under Heat Stress

Background: Extreme panting under heat stress threatens dairy cattle milk production. Previous research has revealed that the gas exchange-mediated respiratory drive in critically ill dairy cattle with low O2 saturation induces panting. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling may play important roles in immunosuppression and oxidative stress during severe respiratory stress responses in heat-stressed cattle. The objectives of this study were to transcriptomically analyze mRNA expression mediating heat-induced respiratory stress-associated panting, evaluate gas exchange, screen hub genes, and verify the expression of proteins encoded by differentially expressed genes in lymphocyte pathways. Results: Jersey cattle were naturally heat-exposed. Physiological data were collected for response evaluation, and blood was collected for gas exchange and gene expression assays at 06:00, 10:00 and 14:00 continuously for one week. Lymphocytes were isolated from whole-blood samples for mRNA-seq and expression analysis of key pathway genes/proteins. The cattle respiration rates differed with time, averaging 51 bpm at 06:00, 76 bpm at 10:00, and 121 bpm at 14:00 (p < 0.05). Gas exchange analysis showed that both pH and pCO2 differed with time: they were 7.41 and 41 mmHg at 06:00, 7.45 and 37.5 mmHg at 10:00, and 7.49 and 33 mmHg at 14:00, respectively (p < 0.01). Sixteen heat-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 13 upregulated and 3 downregulated) were screened between 212 DEGs and 1370 heat stress-affected genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) hub gene functional analysis annotated eleven genes to signal transduction, six genes to the immune response, and five genes to the endocrine response, including both prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and VEGF. Gene Ontology(GO) functional enrichment analysis revealed that oxygen regulation was associated with the phosphorus metabolic process, response to oxygen levels, response to decreased oxygen levels, response to hypoxia and cytokine activity terms. The main signaling pathways were the VEGF, hypoxia inducible factor-1(HIF-1), cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and TNF pathways. Four genes involved Integrin beta 3 (ITBG3), PTGS2, VEGF, and myosin light chain 9 (MYL9) among the 16 genes related to immunosuppression, oxidative stress, and endocrine dysfunction were identified as participants in the VEGF signaling pathway and oxygenation. Conclusion: These findings help elucidate the underlying immune and oxygen regulation mechanisms associated with the VEGF signaling pathway in heat-stressed dairy cattle.