Identification and stable expression of vitellogenin receptor (VTGR) through vitellogenesis in the European eel

[EN] In teleosts, vitellogenin (Vtg) is a phospholipoglycoprotein synthesized by the liver, released into the blood circulation and incorporated into the oocytes via endocytosis mediated by the Vtg receptor (VTGR) to form the yolk granules. The VTGR is crucial for oocyte growth in egg-laying animals but is also present in non-oviparous vertebrates, such as human. The VTGR belongs to the low-density lipoprotein receptor superfamily (LDLR) and is also named very-low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR). In this study, we identified and phylogenetically positioned the VTGR of a basal teleost, the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. We developed quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and investigated the tissue distribution of vtgr transcripts. We compared by qRT-PCR the ovarian expression levels of vtgr in juvenile yellow eels and pre-pubertal silver eels. We also analyzed the regulation of ovarian vtgr expression throughout vitellogenesis in experimentally matured eels. The Vtg plasma level was measured by homologous ELISA experimental maturation. Our in silico search and phylogenetical analysis revealed a single vtgr in the European eel, orthologous to other vertebrate vtgr. The qRT-PCR studies revealed that vtgr is mainly expressed in the ovary and also detected in various other tissues such as brain, pituitary, gill, fat, heart, and testis, suggesting some extra-ovarian functions of VTGR. We showed that vtgr is expressed in ovaries of juvenile yellow eels with no higher expression in pre-pubertal silver eels nor in experimentally matured eels. This suggests that vtgr transcription already occurs during early pre-vitellogenesis of immature eels and is not further activated in vitellogenic oocytes. European eel Vtg plasma level increased throughout experimental maturation in agreement with previous studies. Taken together, these results suggest that vtgr transcript levels may not be a limiting step for the uptake of Vtg by the oocyte in the European eel.M.M., A.G.L. and S.D. were granted with Short Term Scientific Missions by the COST Office (COST Action FA1205: AQUAGAMETE). S.D. was also awarded with a grant from the UPV's School of Doctorate (Accion para la Internacionalizacion de los Programas de Doctorado) in 2017. We thank E. Feunteun and colleagues, MNHN, Dinard, for the ovarian samples from eels of the Fremur, France.Morini, M.; Lafont, AG.; Maugars, G.; Baloche, S.; Dufour, S.; Asturiano, JF.; Pérez Igualada, LM. (2020). Identification and stable expression of vitellogenin receptor (VTGR) through vitellogenesis in the European eel. Animal. 14(6):1213-1222. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731119003355S12131222146Abascal, F., Zardoya, R., & Posada, D. (2005). ProtTest: selection of best-fit models of protein evolution. 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Genomic selection in the French Lacaune dairy sheep breed

Genomic selection aims to increase accuracy and to decrease generation intervals, thus increasing genetic gains in animal breeding. Using real data of the French Lacaune dairy sheep breed, the purpose of this study was to compare the observed accuracies of genomic estimated breeding values using different models (infinitesimal only, markers only, and joint estimation of infinitesimal and marker effects) and methods [BLUP, Bayes Cp, partial least squares (PLS), and sparse PLS]. The training data set included results of progeny tests of 1,886 rams born from 1998 to 2006, whereas the validation set had results of 681 rams born in 2007 and 2008. The 3 lactation traits studied (milk yield, fat content, and somatic cell scores) had heritabilities varying from 0.14 to 0.41. The inclusion of molecular information, as compared with traditional schemes, increased accuracies of estimated breeding values of young males at birth from 18 up to 25%, according to the trait. Accuracies of genomic methods varied from 0.4 to 0.6, according to the traits, with minor differences among genomic approaches. In Bayes Cp, the joint estimation of marker and infinitesimal effects had a slightly favorable effect on the accuracies of genomic estimated breeding values, and were especially beneficial for somatic cell counts, the less heritable trait. Inclusion of infinitesimal effects also improved slopes of predictive regression equations. Methods that select markers implicitly (Bayes Cp and sparse PLS) were advantageous for some models and traits, and are of interest for further quantitative trait loci studies

Calf birth weight, gestation length, calving ease, and neonatal calf mortality in Holstein, Jersey, and crossbred cows in a pasture system

Chantier qualité GAInternational audienceHolstein (HH), Jersey (JJ), and crosses of these breeds were mated to HH or JJ bulls to form purebreds, reciprocal crosses, backcrosses, and other crosses in a rotational mating system. The herd was located at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Data for calf birth weight (CBW), calving ease (0 for unassisted, n = 1,135, and 1 for assisted, n = 96), and neonatal calf mortality (0 for alive, n = 1,150, and 1 for abortions recorded after mid-gestation, stillborn, and dead within 48 h, n = 81) of calves (n = 1,231) were recorded over 9 calving seasons from 2003 through 2011. Gestation length (GL) was calculated as the number of days from last insemination to calving. Linear mixed models for CBW and GL included fixed effects of sex, parity (first vs. later parities), twin status, and 6 genetic groups: HH, JJ, reciprocal F1 crosses (HJ, JH), crosses >50% Holsteins (HX) and crosses >50% Jerseys (JX), where sire breed is listed first. The CBW model also included GL as a covariate. Logistic regression for calving ease and neonatal calf mortality included fixed effects of sex, parity, and genetic group. Genetic groups were replaced by linear regression using percentage of HH genes as coefficients on the above models and included as covariates to determine various genetic effects. Year and dam were included as random effects in all models. Female calves (27.57 ± 0.54 kg), twins (26.39 ± 1.0 kg), and calves born to first-parity cows (27.67 ± 0.56 kg) had lower CBW than respective male calves (29.53 ± 0.53 kg), single births (30.71 ± 0.19 kg), or calves born to multiparous cows (29.43 ± 0.52 kg). Differences in genetic groups were observed for CBW and GL. Increased HH percentage in the calf increased CBW (+9.3 ± 0.57 kg for HH vs. JJ calves), and increased HH percentage in the dams increased CBW (+1.71 ± 0.53 kg for calves from HH dams vs. JJ dams); JH calves weighed 1.33 kg more than reciprocal HJ calves. Shorter GL was observed for twin births (272.6 ± 1.1 d), female calves (273.9 ± 0.6 d), and for first-parity dams (273.8 ± 0.6 d). Direct genetic effects of HH alleles shortened GL (−3.5 ± 0.7 d), whereas maternal HH alleles increased GL (2.7 ± 0.6 d). Female calves had lower odds ratio (0.32, confidence interval = 0.10–0.99) for neonatal calf mortality in second and later parities than did male calves. Maternal heterosis in crossbred primiparous dams was associated with reduced calf mortality