Genomic Regions in Local Endangered Sheep Encode Potentially Favorable Genes

<p>The economic evaluation of farm animal genetic resources plays a key role in developing conservation programs. However, to date, the link between diversity as assessed by neutral genetic markers and the functional diversity is not yet understood. Two genome-wide comparisons, using over 44,000 Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, identified the markers with the highest difference in allele frequency between the Alpago endangered breed and two clusters, composed of four specialized dairy sheep, and four meat breeds respectively. The genes in proximity of these markers were mapped to known pathways of the Gene Ontology to determine which ones were most represented. Our results indicated that the differences of the Alpago breed from the more productive sheep rely upon genes involved in cellular defense and repair mechanisms. A higher number of different markers and genes were detected in the comparison with the specialized dairy sheep. These genes play a role in complex biological processes: metabolic, homeostatic, neurological system, and macromolecular organization; such processes may possibly explain the evolution of gene function as a result of selection to improve milk yield.</p

Threads and plaits or an unfinished project? feminism(s) through the twentieth century

This article defines feminism's enduring aim as one of abolishing discrimination or exclusion on the basis of gender. From this perspective any reflection on the twentieth century must note its many successes in winning real gains for women. Yet developments within feminism itself problematize the way its history can now be recounted. The article considers two possible approaches. One presents feminism as an unfinished emancipatory project, an aspect of a more general process of modernization and amenable to a grand narrative history. The other suggests that women's struggles were always contingent and diverse, matching political strategies to the exigencies of their context. The article ends by re-presenting a century of British feminisms from this latter, more genealogical, perspective

Representative results of <i>SERPINA1</i> gene expression in different ovine tissues.

<p>A) Expression of <i>SERPINA1</i> transcript variants (indicated by arrows on right) and B) expression of ATPB5 control gene in various tissues. Lanes represent molecular weight marker (M) spleen (1), <i>semitendinosus</i> muscle (2), longissimus dorsi muscle (3), mammary gland (4), brain (5), cerebellum (6), rumen (7), bladder (8), adrenal (9), uterus (10) and liver (11)..</p

Alignment of the reactive center loop (RCL) region (25 aa) for AAT protein in different mammalian.

<p>RCL region is dotted underlined. The two amino acids important for the inhibitory AAT function are highlighted with a box.</p

Gel electrophoresis of ovine <i>SERPINA1</i> cDNA transcript variants.

<p>Molecular weight markers on the left (lane M), cDNA from mammary gland Sarda (lane 1) and Gentile di Puglia (lane 2) breeds, and cDNA from milk cells of Sarda (lane 3) and Gentile di Puglia (lane 4) breeds. The three identified splicing variants are indicated by arrows on right side of pictograph.</p

DataSheet1.docx

<p>The domestic water buffalo is native to the Asian continent but through historical migrations and recent importations, nowadays has a worldwide distribution. The two types of water buffalo, i.e., river and swamp, display distinct morphological and behavioral traits, different karyotypes and also have different purposes and geographical distributions. River buffaloes from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Mozambique, Brazil and Colombia, and swamp buffaloes from China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil were genotyped with a species-specific medium-density 90K SNP panel. We estimated the levels of molecular diversity and described population structure, which revealed historical relationships between populations and migration events. Three distinct gene pools were identified in pure river as well as in pure swamp buffalo populations. Genomic admixture was seen in the Philippines and in Brazil, resulting from importations of animals for breed improvement. Our results were largely consistent with previous archeological, historical and molecular-based evidence for two independent domestication events for river- and swamp-type buffaloes, which occurred in the Indo-Pakistani region and close to the China/Indochina border, respectively. Based on a geographical analysis of the distribution of diversity, our evidence also indicated that the water buffalo spread out of the domestication centers followed two major divergent migration directions: river buffaloes migrated west from the Indian sub-continent while swamp buffaloes migrated from northern Indochina via an east-south-eastern route. These data suggest that the current distribution of water buffalo diversity has been shaped by the combined effects of multiple migration events occurred at different stages of the post-domestication history of the species.</p

Table1.XLSX

<p>The domestic water buffalo is native to the Asian continent but through historical migrations and recent importations, nowadays has a worldwide distribution. The two types of water buffalo, i.e., river and swamp, display distinct morphological and behavioral traits, different karyotypes and also have different purposes and geographical distributions. River buffaloes from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Mozambique, Brazil and Colombia, and swamp buffaloes from China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil were genotyped with a species-specific medium-density 90K SNP panel. We estimated the levels of molecular diversity and described population structure, which revealed historical relationships between populations and migration events. Three distinct gene pools were identified in pure river as well as in pure swamp buffalo populations. Genomic admixture was seen in the Philippines and in Brazil, resulting from importations of animals for breed improvement. Our results were largely consistent with previous archeological, historical and molecular-based evidence for two independent domestication events for river- and swamp-type buffaloes, which occurred in the Indo-Pakistani region and close to the China/Indochina border, respectively. Based on a geographical analysis of the distribution of diversity, our evidence also indicated that the water buffalo spread out of the domestication centers followed two major divergent migration directions: river buffaloes migrated west from the Indian sub-continent while swamp buffaloes migrated from northern Indochina via an east-south-eastern route. These data suggest that the current distribution of water buffalo diversity has been shaped by the combined effects of multiple migration events occurred at different stages of the post-domestication history of the species.</p

Table2.xlsx

<p>The domestic water buffalo is native to the Asian continent but through historical migrations and recent importations, nowadays has a worldwide distribution. The two types of water buffalo, i.e., river and swamp, display distinct morphological and behavioral traits, different karyotypes and also have different purposes and geographical distributions. River buffaloes from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, Mozambique, Brazil and Colombia, and swamp buffaloes from China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil were genotyped with a species-specific medium-density 90K SNP panel. We estimated the levels of molecular diversity and described population structure, which revealed historical relationships between populations and migration events. Three distinct gene pools were identified in pure river as well as in pure swamp buffalo populations. Genomic admixture was seen in the Philippines and in Brazil, resulting from importations of animals for breed improvement. Our results were largely consistent with previous archeological, historical and molecular-based evidence for two independent domestication events for river- and swamp-type buffaloes, which occurred in the Indo-Pakistani region and close to the China/Indochina border, respectively. Based on a geographical analysis of the distribution of diversity, our evidence also indicated that the water buffalo spread out of the domestication centers followed two major divergent migration directions: river buffaloes migrated west from the Indian sub-continent while swamp buffaloes migrated from northern Indochina via an east-south-eastern route. These data suggest that the current distribution of water buffalo diversity has been shaped by the combined effects of multiple migration events occurred at different stages of the post-domestication history of the species.</p