Abstract
The increment of world population increases the need of improving feed efficiency traits of livestock. However, the molecular mechanisms behind different feed efficiency traits and their regulation by nutrition remain poorly understood. Nowadays, Next Generation Sequencing methods allow understanding differences in gene expression and identifying functional candidate genes and pathways that control target traits in order to design strategies to increase feed efficiency. The present study was designed to identify (RNA-seq) differentially expressed (DE) genes in the liver tissues of fattening merino lambs caused by milk restriction during the suckling period. Forty male lambs were assigned randomly to two intake levels (n=20 per group) during the suckling period, namely ad libitum (ADL) and restricted (RES) groups. When they reached 15 kg of live body weight (LBW), all the animals were offered the same complete pelleted diet at a restricted level (40 g/kg) to ensure no selection of ingredients and no differences in dry matter intake during the fattening period. All the lambs were slaughtered with 27 kg of LBW and four animals from each group were selected for RNA-seq. Thirty-eight DE annotated genes were identified, with 23 DE genes being down-regulated and 15 up-regulated in the RES relative to the ADL group. RES lambs showed over-expression of lipid and xenobiotic metabolism pathways. Moreover, those genes involved in protein synthesis or protease inhibitors were down-regulated in the RES group, whereas those related to proteolytic degradation were up-regulated, thus suggesting a higher catabolism of proteins in these lambs. In conclusion, a restricted milk intake level during the suckling period of merino lambs promoted long term effects on hepatic transcriptomic profile which might have modified fatty acids metabolism and increased catabolism of proteins and detoxification of xenobiotics during the fattening period.
Original language | English |
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Pages | 388 |
Publication status | Published - 28 Aug 2017 |
Event | EAAP 68th Annual Meeting of the Animal Science (EAAP) - Tallinn, Estonia Duration: 28 Aug 2017 → 1 Sept 2017 |
Other
Other | EAAP 68th Annual Meeting of the Animal Science (EAAP) |
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Country/Territory | Estonia |
City | Tallinn |
Period | 28/08/17 → 1/09/17 |