Genetic characterization of Egyptian and Italian sheep breeds using mitochondrial DNA.

A 721-bp fragment from 15,541 to 16,261 bp (NC_001941.1) of the mtDNA control region from different Egyptian and Italian sheep breeds was amplified. The PCR products were purified and sequenced.

Microsatellite genotyping of medieval cattle from central Italy suggests an old origin of Chianina and Romagnola cattle.

Analysis of DNA from archeological remains is a valuable tool to interpret the history of ancient animal populations. So far most studies of ancient DNA target mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which reveals maternal lineages, but only partially the relationships of current breeds and ancient populations. In this study we explore the feasibility of nuclear DNA analysis.

Signatures of selection in five Italian cattle breeds detected by a 54K SNP panel.

In this study we used a medium density panel of SNP markers to perform population genetic analysis in five Italian cattle breeds. The BovineSNP50 BeadChip was used to genotype a total of 2,935 bulls of Piedmontese, Marchigiana, Italian Holstein, Italian Brown and Italian Pezzata Rossa breeds. To determine a genome-wide pattern of positive selection we mapped the F st values against genome location.

Microarray gene expression profiling of neural tissues in bovine spastic paresis.

Background: Bovine Spastic Paresis (BSP) is a neuromuscular disorder which affects both male and female cattle. BSP is characterized by spastic contraction and overextension of the gastrocnemious muscle of one or both limbs and is associated with a scarce increase in body weight. This disease seems to be caused by an autosomal and recessive gene, with incomplete penetration, although no genes clearly involved with its onset have been so far identified.

Mitochondrial DNA of seven Italian sheep breeds shows faint signatures of domestication and suggests recent breed formation.

Italy represented a crucial zone for migration and formation of sheep breeds. However, few data on Italian breeds have been published so far. We analysed seven Italian sheep breeds using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing to gain information on their genetic diversity and history.

Milk fatty acid variability: effect of some candidate genes involved in lipid synthesis.

In this work, the genetic variation of milk FA was investigated in three different bovine breeds, the Jersey, the Piedmontese and the Valdostana, and at different lactation stages. All animals were genotyped for 21 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms located within nine candidate genes involved in lipid synthesis: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 and 2 (DGAT1, 2); stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD); growth hormone receptor (GHR); fatty acid synthase (FASN); acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (ACAD); fatty acid binding protein (FABP4); lipoprotein lipase (LPL); and leptin gene (LEP). The highest milk-fat Jersey breed also showed the highest content of saturated FA.

Identification of a short region on chromosome 6 affecting direct calving ease in Piedmontese cattle breed.

Calving in cattle is affected by calf morphology and by dam characteristics. It is described by two different traits: maternal calving ease, which is the ability to generate dams with good physiological predisposition to calving, and direct calving ease, which is the ability to generate calves that are easily born. The aim of this study was to identify regions of cattle genome harboring genes possibly affecting direct calving ease in the Piedmontese cattle breed.

Genetic diversity of sheep breeds from Albania, Greece, and Italy assessed by mitochondrial DNA and nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs).

We employed mtDNA and nuclear SNPs to investigate the genetic diversity of sheep breeds of three countries of the Mediterranean basin: Albania, Greece, and Italy. In total, 154 unique mtDNA haplotypes were detected by means of D-loop sequence analysis. The major nucleotide diversity was observed in Albania.

A novel point mutation within the EDA gene causes an exon dropping in mature RNA in Holstein Friesian cattle breed affected by X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

Background: X-linked anhidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is a disorder characterized by abnormal development of tissues and organs of ectodermal origin caused by mutations in the EDA gene. The bovine EDA gene encodes the ectodysplasin A, a membrane protein expressed in keratinocytes, hair follicles and sweat glands, which is involved in the interactions between cell and cell and/or cell and matrix. Four mutations causing ectodermal dysplasia in cattle have been described so far.

Comparative proteomics and transcriptomics analyses of livers from two different Bos taurus breeds: "Chianina and Holstein Friesian".

The Holstein Friesian and Chianina cattle breeds are representative of extreme selection for milk and meat traits, respectively, with significant changes in metabolism resulting from human selection over the past centuries. In the present study, we wanted to assess whether selection for different purposes has had a measurable effect on liver metabolism through a comparison of the protein and gene expression profiles of the two breeds. We applied 2-DE in order to identify proteins which were differentially expressed in the livers of the two breeds and relate them to different liver functions.

Geographical patterning of sixteen goat breeds from Italy, Albania and Greece assessed by Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms.

Background: SNP data of goats of three Mediterranean countries were used for population studies and reconstruction of geographical patterning. 496 individuals belonging to Italian, Albanian and Greek breeds were genotyped to assess the basic population parameters.

Results: A total of 26 SNPs were used, for a total of 12,896 genotypes assayed.

Microarrays and high-throughput transcriptomic analysis in species with incomplete availability of genomic sequences.

Microarrays produce a measurement of gene expression based on the relative measures of dye intensities that correspond to the amount of target RNA. This technology is fast developing and its application is expanding from Homo sapiens to a wide number of species, where enough information on sequences and annotations exist. Anyway, the number of species for which a dedicated platform exists is not high.

Landscape genomics and biased FST approaches reveal single nucleotide polymorphisms under selection in goat breeds of North-East Mediterranean.

Background: In this study we compare outlier loci detected using a FST based method with those identified by a recently described method based on spatial analysis (SAM). We tested a panel of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously genotyped in individuals of goat breeds of southern areas of the Mediterranean basin (Italy, Greece and Albania). We evaluate how the SAM method performs with SNPs, which are increasingly employed due to their high number, low cost and easy of scoring.

Comparison of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) proteins of Chianina and Holstein cattle breed milk samples through proteomics methods.

Identification of proteins involved in milk production is important to understand the biology of lactation. Many studies have advanced the understanding of mammary function and milk secretion, but the critical molecular mechanisms implicated in milk fat secretion is still incomplete. Milk fat globules are secreted from the apical surface of the mammary cells, surrounded by a thin membrane bilayer, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), formed by proteins which have been suggested to be cholesterolemia-lowering factors, inhibitors of cancer cell growth, vitamin binders, bactericidal, suppressors of multiple sclerosis.

A tool for sheep product quality: custom microarrays from public databases.

Milk and dairy products are an essential food and an economic resource in many countries. Milk component synthesis and secretion by the mammary gland involve expression of a large number of genes whose nutritional regulation remains poorly defined. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the genomic influence on milk quality and synthesis by comparing two sheep breeds with different milking attitude (Sarda and Gentile di Puglia) using sheep-specific microarray technology.

Characterization of 37 breed-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms in sheep.

We identified 37 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in sheep and screened 16 individuals from 8 different sheep breeds selected throughout Europe. Population genetic measures based on the genotyping of about 30 sheep from the same 8 breeds are reported. To date, there are no sheep SNPs documented in the National Center for Biotechnology Information dbSNP database.