RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Systems biology reveals NR2F6 and TGFB1 as key regulators of feed efficiency in beef cattle
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 360396
DO 10.1101/360396
A1 Pâmela A. Alexandre
A1 Marina Naval-Sanchez
A1 Laercio R. Porto-Neto
A1 José Bento S. Ferraz
A1 Antonio Reverter
A1 Heidge Fukumasu
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/08/09/360396.abstract
AB Systems biology approaches are used as strategy to uncover tissue-specific perturbations and regulatory genes related to complex phenotypes. We applied this approach to study feed efficiency (FE) in beef cattle, an important trait both economically and environmentally. Poly-A selected RNA of five tissues (adrenal gland, hypothalamus, liver, skeletal muscle and pituitary) of eighteen young bulls, selected for high and low FE, were sequenced (100bp, pared-end). From the 17,354 expressed genes, 1,317 were prioritized by five selection categories (differentially expressed, harbouring SNPs associated with FE, tissue-specific, secreted in plasma and key regulators) and used for network construction. NR2F6 and TGFB were identified and validated by motif discovery as key regulators of hepatic inflammatory response and muscle tissue development, respectively, two biological processes demonstrated to be associated to FE. Moreover, we indicated potential biomarkers of FE which are related to hormonal control of metabolism and sexual maturity. By using robust methodologies and validation strategies, we confirmed main biological processes related to FE in Bos indicus and indicated candidate genes as regulators or biomarkers of superior animals.