Bioinformatic approach to identifying causative missense polymorphisms in animal genomes.

Background: Trends in the development of genetic markers for the purposes of genomic and marker-assisted selection primarily focus on identifying causative polymorphisms. Using these polymorphisms as markers enables a more accurate association between genotype and phenotype. Bioinformatic analysis allows calculating the impact of missense polymorphisms on the structural and functional characteristics of proteins, which makes it promising for identifying causative polymorphisms.

Bioinformatic analysis of the effect of SNPs in the pig TERT gene on the structural and functional characteristics of the enzyme to develop new genetic markers of productivity traits.

Background: Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) plays a crucial role in synthesizing telomeric repeats that safeguard chromosomes from damage and fusion, thereby maintaining genome stability. Mutations in the TERT gene can lead to a deviation in gene expression, impaired enzyme activity, and, as a result, abnormal telomere shortening. Genetic markers of productivity traits in livestock can be developed based on the TERT gene polymorphism for use in marker-associated selection (MAS).

Analysis of RBD-ACE2 interactions in livestock species as a factor in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 among animals.

The high mutation rate of SARS-CoV-2, which has led to the emergence of a number of virus variants, creates risks of transmission from humans to animal species and the emergence of new animal reservoirs of COVID-19. This study aimed to identify animal species among livestock susceptible to infection and develop an approach that would be possible to use for assessing the hazards caused by new SARS-CoV-2 variants for animals. Bioinformatic analysis was used to evaluate the ability of receptor-binding domains (RBDs) of different SARS-CoV-2 variants to interact with ACE2 receptors of livestock species.

The impact of mutation sets in receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the stability of RBD-ACE2 complex.

Bioinformatic analysis of mutation sets in receptor-binding domain (RBD) of currently and previously circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) and interest (VOIs) to assess their ability to bind the ACE2 receptor. sequence and structure-oriented approaches were used to evaluate the impact of single and multiple mutations. Mutations detected in VOCs and VOIs led to the reduction of binding free energy of the RBD-ACE2 complex, forming additional chemical bonds with ACE2, and to an increase of RBD-ACE2 complex stability.

Polymorphisms of the porcine cathepsins, growth hormone-releasing hormone and leptin receptor genes and their association with meat quality traits in Ukrainian Large White breed.

Cathepsins, growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes have been receiving increasing attention as potential markers for meat quality and pig performance traits. This study investigated the allele variants in four cathepsin genes (CTSB, CTSK, CTSL, CTSS), GHRH and LEPR in pure-bred Ukrainian Large White pigs and evaluated effects of the allele variants on meat quality characteristics. The study was conducted on 72 pigs.