Circulating skeletal muscle related microRNAs profile in Piedmontese cattle during different age

Abstract Piedmontese cattle is known for double-muscle phenotype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important role as regulators in skeletal muscle physiological processes, and we hypothesize that plasma miRNAs expression profiles could be affected by skeletal muscle growth status related to age. Plasma samples of cattle were collected during four different ages from first week of life until the time of commercial end of the fattening period before slaughter. Small-RNA sequencing data analysis revealed the presence of 40% of muscle-related miRNAs among the top 25 highly expressed miRNAs and, 19 miRNAs showed differential expression too. Using qRT-PCR, we validated in a larger bovine population, miRNAs involved in skeletal muscle physiology pathways. Comparing new-born with the other age groups, miR-10b, miR-126-5p, miR-143 and miR-146b were significantly up-regulated, whereas miR-21-5p, miR-221, miR-223 and miR-30b-5p were significantly down-regulated. High expression levels of miR-23a in all the groups were found. Myostatin, a negative regulator of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, was predicted as the target gene for miR-23a and miR-126-5p and we demonstrated their direct binding. Correlation analysis revealed association between miRNAs expression profiles and animals’ weights along the age. Circulating miRNAs could be promising for future studies on their biomarker potentialities to beef cattle selection

Circulating skeletal muscle related microRNAs profile in Piedmontese cattle during different age

Piedmontese cattle is known for double-muscle phenotype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important role as regulators in skeletal muscle physiological processes, and we hypothesize that plasma miRNAs expression profiles could be affected by skeletal muscle growth status related to age. Plasma samples of cattle were collected during four different ages from first week of life until the time of commercial end of the fattening period before slaughter. Small-RNA sequencing data analysis revealed the presence of 40% of muscle-related miRNAs among the top 25 highly expressed miRNAs and, 19 miRNAs showed differential expression too. Using qRT-PCR, we validated in a larger bovine population, miRNAs involved in skeletal muscle physiology pathways. Comparing new-born with the other age groups, miR-10b, miR-126-5p, miR-143 and miR-146b were significantly up-regulated, whereas miR-21-5p, miR-221, miR-223 and miR-30b-5p were significantly down-regulated. High expression levels of miR-23a in all the groups were found. Myostatin, a negative regulator of skeletal muscle hypertrophy, was predicted as the target gene for miR-23a and miR-126-5p and we demonstrated their direct binding. Correlation analysis revealed association between miRNAs expression profiles and animals’ weights along the age. Circulating miRNAs could be promising for future studies on their biomarker potentialities to beef cattle selection

Historia de uso del suelo y contenido de micronutrientes en Argiudoles del centro de la provincia de Santa Fe (Argentina)

67-73The studies related to the concentration and bioavailability of soil micronutrients are very limited for the central region of Santa Fe province, reason for which the objectives of the current research were: a) to determine the decrease of the micronutrient contents in Argiudolls of Santa Fe as a consequence of soil use, and b) to correlate the micronutrient bioavailability with soil properties that were affected by the intensification of productive systems (organic matter, pH). The study was carried out in Argiudolls of Las Colonias county (Santa Fe). Composite soil samples were collected from 20 fields under pristine conditions (CP), 22 fields under milk production history (G), 24 fields under agricultural-livestock history (AG) and 20 fields under a long agricultural history (A). These samples were used to determine: pH, organic carbon (OC), boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). The results indicate that the pH did not vary among the studied situations; the values of OC diminished 40 percent with the intensification of agriculture; the concentration of B and Zn in fields with a long agricultural history decreased 50 percent with respect to the pristine condition; the Cu concentration was not altered; Fe and Mn did not show a clear tendency to change as a function of the soil use. Zinc deficiencies could occur in some cases, therefore, its concentration should be routinely controlled, especially in intensive systems, to assure an appropriate supply of nutrients according to the crop demand

Historia de uso del suelo y contenido de micronutrientes en Argiudoles del centro de la provincia de Santa Fe (Argentina)

67-73The studies related to the concentration and bioavailability of soil micronutrients are very limited for the central region of Santa Fe province, reason for which the objectives of the current research were: a) to determine the decrease of the micronutrient contents in Argiudolls of Santa Fe as a consequence of soil use, and b) to correlate the micronutrient bioavailability with soil properties that were affected by the intensification of productive systems (organic matter, pH). The study was carried out in Argiudolls of Las Colonias county (Santa Fe). Composite soil samples were collected from 20 fields under pristine conditions (CP), 22 fields under milk production history (G), 24 fields under agricultural-livestock history (AG) and 20 fields under a long agricultural history (A). These samples were used to determine: pH, organic carbon (OC), boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and zinc (Zn). The results indicate that the pH did not vary among the studied situations; the values of OC diminished 40 percent with the intensification of agriculture; the concentration of B and Zn in fields with a long agricultural history decreased 50 percent with respect to the pristine condition; the Cu concentration was not altered; Fe and Mn did not show a clear tendency to change as a function of the soil use. Zinc deficiencies could occur in some cases, therefore, its concentration should be routinely controlled, especially in intensive systems, to assure an appropriate supply of nutrients according to the crop demand

Variation analysis and gene annotation of eight MHC haplotypes: The MHC Haplotype Project

The human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is contained within about 4 Mb on the short arm of chromosome 6 and is recognised as the most variable region in the human genome. The primary aim of the MHC Haplotype Project was to provide a comprehensively annotated reference sequence of a single, human leukocyte antigen-homozygous MHC haplotype and to use it as a basis against which variations could be assessed from seven other similarly homozygous cell lines, representative of the most common MHC haplotypes in the European population. Comparison of the haplotype sequences, including four haplotypes not previously analysed, resulted in the identification of >44,000 variations, both substitutions and indels (insertions and deletions), which have been submitted to the dbSNP database. The gene annotation uncovered haplotype-specific differences and confirmed the presence of more than 300 loci, including over 160 protein-coding genes. Combined analysis of the variation and annotation datasets revealed 122 gene loci with coding substitutions of which 97 were non-synonymous. The haplotype (A3-B7-DR15; PGF cell line) designated as the new MHC reference sequence, has been incorporated into the human genome assembly (NCBI35 and subsequent builds), and constitutes the largest single-haplotype sequence of the human genome to date. The extensive variation and annotation data derived from the analysis of seven further haplotypes have been made publicly available and provide a framework and resource for future association studies of all MHC-associated diseases and transplant medicine

Extended LTA, TNF, LST1 and HLA Gene Haplotypes and Their Association with Rubella Vaccine-Induced Immunity

Recent studies have suggested the importance of HLA genes in determining immune responses following rubella vaccine. The telomeric class III region of the HLA complex harbors several genes, including lymphotoxin alpha (LTA), tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and leukocyte specific transcript -1 (LST1) genes, located between the class I B and class II DRB1 loci. Apart from HLA, little is known about the effect of this extended genetic region on HLA haplotypic backgrounds as applied to immune responses.We examined the association between immune responses and extended class I-class II-class III haplotypes among 714 healthy children after two doses of rubella vaccination. These extended haplotypes were then compared to the HLA-only haplotypes. The most significant association was observed between haplotypes extending across the HLA class I region, ten-SNP haplotypes, and the HLA class II region (i.e. A-C-B-LTA-TNF-LST1-DRB1-DQA1-DQB1-DPA1-DPB1) and rubella-specific antibodies (global p-value of 0.03). Associations were found between both extended A*02-C*03-B*15-AAAACGGGGC-DRB1*04-DQA1*03-DQB1*03-DPA1*01-DPB1*04 (p = 0.002) and HLA-only A*02-C*03-B*15-DRB1*04-DQA1*03-DQB1*03-DPA1*01-DPB1*04 haplotypes (p = 0.009) and higher levels of rubella antibodies. The class II HLA-only haplotype DRB1*13-DQA1*01-DQB1*06-DPA1*01-DPB1*04 (p = 0.04) lacking LTA-TNF-LST1 SNPs was associated with lower rubella antibody responses. Similarly, the class I-class II HLA-only A*01-C*07-B*08-DRB1*03-DQA1*05-DQB1*02-DPA1*01-DPB1*04 haplotype was associated with increased TNF-alpha secretion levels (p = 0.009). In contrast, the extended AAAACGGGGC-DRB1*01-DQA1*01-DQB1*05-DPA1*01-DPB1*04 (p = 0.01) haplotype was found to trend with decreased rubella-specific IL-6 secretion levels.These data suggest the importance of examining both HLA genes and genes in the class III region as part of the extended haplotypes useful in understanding genomic drivers regulating immune responses to rubella vaccine