How Can We Advance Integrative Biology Research in Animal Science in 21st Century? Experience at University of Ljubljana from 2002 to 2022.

In this perspective analysis, we strive to answer the following question: how can we advance integrative biology research in the 21st century with lessons from animal science? At the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science, we share here our three lessons learned in the two decades from 2002 to 2022 that we believe could inform integrative biology, systems science, and animal science scholarship in other countries and geographies. Cultivating multiomics knowledge through a conceptual lens of integrative biology is crucial for life sciences research that can stand the test of diverse biological, clinical, and ecological contexts. Moreover, in an era of the current COVID-19 pandemic, animal nutrition and animal science, and the study of their interactions with human health (and vice versa) through integrative biology approaches hold enormous prospects and significance for systems medicine and ecosystem health.

Catalog of genetic variants within mature microRNA seed regions in chicken.

MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of noncoding RNA important in posttranscriptional regulation of target genes. The regulation mechanism requires complementarity between target mRNA and the miRNA region responsible for their recognition and binding, also called the seed region. It has been estimated that each miRNA targets approximately 200 genes and genetic variability of miRNA genes has been associated with phenotypic variation and disease susceptibility in humans, livestock species, and model organisms.

Thirty-four generations of divergent selection for 8-week body weight in chickens.

Chickens of the Slovenian commercial Prelux-bro line were divergently selected over 34 generations for high and low BW at 8 wk of age. The aim of the study was to estimate responses to selection with a nonlinear model. Estimates of BW for each generation were provided by the mixed model.