Cosmochemical Derivation of the Composition of Chondrite Material.

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第34回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月17日（木） 国立国語研究所 2階講

Ordinary Chondrites and the Origin of the Earth

第3回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月29日（木）、30日（金） 国立国語研究所 2階講

Genome-wide analysis in the search for candidate genes associated with meat productivity traits in meat-and-dairy goats

The development of the tourism cluster in the North Caucasus causes the expansion of product range with high consumer characteristics, in particular, a sustainable offer of dairy and meat products labeled as environmentally friendly. In the range of such products with high dietary properties, a special role may be played by goat meat obtained from Karachay goats, which are the most common meat-and-dairy goats in the region. The aim of the work was to search for candidate genes associated with live weight and meat productivity of Karachay goats. GWAS analysis using Goat 50K BeadChip high-density DNA microarray determined a genome-wide level of significance for six SNPs located on chromosomes 5, 6, 10 and 16 associated with the live weight of young animals (4 and 8 months old). Three of the six SNPs within the ± 200 kb region were localized to HMGA2, CRADD, and MAX genes. These genes were selected to study the meat productivity traits of young goats with different genotypes. It was found that in the locus linked with HMGA2 gene, young goats with GG genotype were characterized by the best indicators of meat productivity. Compared to AA genotype animals, they had superiority in pre-slaughter weight, slaughter carcass weight, slaughter yield, boneless meat weight and loin eye area by 8.9%, 13.6%, 4.3% (P<0.05), 10.5% (P<0.05) respectively. Young goat meat of this genotype was characterized by the high protein content of 22.56% and low fat content of 9.12%. For the CRADD gene, animals with GG genotype had a higher pre-slaughter weight, slaughter weight, slaughter carcass yield, boneless meat weight and loin eye area. Animals with AG genotype were characterized by the lowest indicators. According to the above characteristics, the difference between the compared genotypes was 15.8%, 25.7% (P<0.01), 8.4% (P <0.05), 18.3%, and 15.7% (P 0.01) respectively. There were no significant differences in the chemical composition of muscle tissue between animals of different genotypes. HMGA2 and CRADD genes are promising for further research of Karachay goats breeding to increase meat productivity and meat quality.

Biotechnological bases of the development of cloned pig embryos

The term ‘clone’ in animal biotechnology refers to an organism derived from non-sexual reproduction, which is both a direct offspring and a genetic copy of the parent organism. To date, the pig appears to be the most interesting object in cloning research. Somatic cell nuclear transfer in pigs has a wide range of potential applications in various fields of human scientific and economic activities. However, the efficiency of producing cloned embryos in swine is still lower than that of other livestock species, in particular horses and cattle. Somatic cell nuclear transfer is a technically complex multi-stage technology, at each stage of which the pig oocytes, which are more susceptible to changes of surrounding conditions, are affected by various factors (mechanical, physical, chemical). At the stage of oocyte maturation, changes in the cell ultrastructures of the ooplasm occur, which play an important role in the subsequent nuclear reprogramming of the transferred donor cell. Before transfer to the oocyte donor somatic cells are synchronized in the G0/G1 stage of the cell cycle to ensure the normal ploidy of the cloned embryo. When removing the nucleus of pig oocytes maturated in vitro, it is necessary to pay attention to the problem of preserving the viability of cells, which were devoid of their own nuclear material. To perform the reconstruction, a somatic cell is placed, using micro-tools, in the perivitelline space, where the first polar body was previously located, or in the cytoplasm of an enucleated oocyte. The method of manual cloning involves the removal of the oocyte nucleus with subsequent fusion with the donor cell without the use of micromanipulation techniques. The increased sensitivity of oocytes to the environmental conditions causes special requirements for the choice of the system for in vitro culture of cloned pig embryos. In this work, we have reviewed the modern methods used for the production of cloned embryos and identified the technological issues that prevent improving the efficiency of somatic cloning of pigs

The pattern of genetic diversity of different breeds of pigs based on microsatellite analysis

One of the main tasks of genetics and animal breeding is the assessment of genetic diversity and the study of genetic relationships between different breeds and populations using molecular genetic analysis methods. We analysed the polymorphism of microsatellites and the information on the state of genetic diversity and the population structure of local breeds in Russia: the Kemerovo, the Berkshire, the Liven, the Mangalitsa, and the Civilian; in the Republic of Belarus: the Large White and the Black-and-White; and in Ukraine: the White Steppe, as well as commercial breeds of imported origin of domestic reproduction: the Large White, the Landrace, and the Duroc. The materials used for this study were the tissue and DNA samples extracted from 1,194 pigs and DNA of the UNU “Genetic material bank of domestic and wild animal species and birds” of the L.K. Ernst Federal Research Center for Animal Husbandry. Polymorphisms of 10 microsatellites (S0155, S0355, S0386, SW24, SO005, SW72, SW951, S0101, SW240, and SW857) were determined according to the previously developed technique using DNA analyser ABI3130xl. To estimate the allele pool of each population, the average number of alleles (NA), the effective number of alleles (NE ) based on the locus, the rarified allelic richness (AR), the observed (HO ) and expected (HE ) heterozygosity, and the fixation index (FIS) were calculated. The degree of genetic differentiation of the breeds was assessed based on the pairwise values of FST and D. The analysis of the allelic and genetic diversity parameters of the local breeds showed that the maximum and minimum levels of polymorphism were observed in pigs of the Ukrainian White Steppe breed (NA = 6.500, NE = 3.709, and AR = 6.020) and in pigs of the Duroc breed (NA = 4.875, NE = 2.119, and AR = 3.821), respectively. The highest level of genetic diversity was found in the Large White breed of the Republic of Belarus (HO = 0.707 and NE = 0.702). The minimum level of genetic diversity was found in pigs of the imported breeds – the Landrace (HO = 0.459, HE = 0.400) and the Duroc (HO = 0.480, HE = 0.469) – indicating a high selection pressure in these breeds. Based on the results of phylogenetic analysis, the genetic origin of Large White pigs, the breeds, from which the Berkshire pigs originated, and the genetic detachment of the Landrace from the Mangalitsa breeds were revealed. The cluster analysis showed a genetic consolidation of the Black-and-White, the Berkshire, and the Mangalitsa pigs. Additionally, the imported breeds with clustering depending on the origin were characterised by a genetic structure different from that of the other breeds. The information obtained from these studies can serve as a guide for the management and breeding strategies of the pig breeds studied, to allow their better use and conservation

British sheep breeds as a part of world sheep gene pool landscape: looking into genomic applications

Sheep farming has been an important sector of the UK’s economy and rural life for many centuries. It is the favored source of wool, meat and milk products. In the era of exponential progress in genomic technologies, we can now address the questions of what is special about UK sheep breed genotypes and how they differ genetically form one another and from other countries. We can reflect how their natural history has been determined at the level of their genetic code and what traces have been left in their genomes because of selection for phenotypic traits. These include adaptability to certain environmental conditions and management, as well as resistance to disease. Application of these advancements in genetics and genomics to study sheep breeds of British domestic selection has begun and will continue in order to facilitate conservation solutions and production improvement

Dynamics of the biodiversity of black and white cattle influenced by cross-breeding

The inter-breed crossing (crossbreeding) permits one to introduce new alleles, extend genetic diversity, and achieve desired phenotypic characteristics of initial breeds. On the other hand, crossbreeding may cause a decrease in genetic differentiation of indigenous breeds due to loss of the part of their unique allele pool. The objective of the present work was to investigate the effect of crossbreeding on the allele pool variability of Russian Black and White cattle by using 10 microsatellite loci (BM1818, BM2113, ETH10, ETH225, TGLA122, TGLA126, TGLA227, ILST005, ETH185, and ILST006). The study was performed with purebred pedigree bulls of the Russian Black and White breed (BW_PB, n = 14) and two groups of their crosses with Holsteins carrying 25,0–62,5 % (BW_KR1, n = 16) and less than 12,5 % of the Black and White gene pool (BW_KR2, n = 67). Purebred Holstein bulls (HOLST, n = 42) were used as a reference group. It was found that the increase in Holstein’s blood could lead to the observed decrease in genetic diversity evaluated by the average number of effective alleles per loci (from 4,59 ± 0,46 to 3,87 ± 0,53), by the value of the Shannon index (from 1,60 ± 0,13 to 1,46 ± 0,14) and by the observed heterozygosity degree (from 0,779 ± 0,053 to 0,687 ± 0,055). It is shown that crossbreeding with Holsteins increases the genetic similarity to HOLST: Fst = 0,058, 0,036, and 0,026; Rst = 0,088, 0,060, and 0,050; DNei = 0,306, 0,178, and 0,123 for BW_PB, BW_KR1, and BW_KR2, respectively. Decrease in the genetic difference between the Black and White breed and Holsteins due to crossbreeding is confirmed by cluster analysis. Thus, evaluation of the allele pool and the level of genetic variability in populations are necessary for the efficient management of farm animal genetic recourses

Characterization and genomic analysis of Exiguobacterium alkaliphilum B-3531D, an efficient crude oil degrading strain

The aim of the work was to carry out the physiological, biochemical and genetic characterization of the Exiguobacterium alkaliphilum B-3531D strai

Whole-genome association studies of distribution of developmental abnormalities and other breeding-valuable qualitative traits in offspring of the Russian large-white boars

Identifying genome regions that are directly or indirectly associated with developmental defects and malformations in domesticated pigs can help identify genomic traits used as biomarkers of the structural and functional composition of the body, their metabolic status and genetic diseases as well. Such studies are directly related to the improvement of the economic efficiency, as they allow identification and exclusion of defect animals, who may carry target genes not appearing phenotypically, from the breeding process. In the current work, we have searched for these kind of target genes and genome regions with conducting the genome-wide association studies using PorcineSNP60K BeadChips (Illumina, San Diego, USA). A total of 48 boars of a large white breed of the nucleus farm “Znamenskoe” were analyzed for 21 traits of indicated shortcomings of the exterior and defects of development in 39,153 their offspring.  Calculations were made using a mixed type linear model in package GEMMA. In this study, we selected only 36,704 polymorphic SNPs from an initial 61,000-strong SNP set. After GWAS, we obtained 24 alleles in 11 corresponding genes  (P < 0.1) in the genome of pigs, which are significantly correlated with traits of developmental abnormalities such as anal atresia (ARMC7,FANCC,RND3,ENSSSCG00000017216), limb problems (PAWR,NTM,OPCML,ENSSSCG00000040250, ENSSSCG00000017018) and tremor of piglets (RIC3,ENSSSCG00000032665). Also, co-expression of the NTM,OPCMLand  RND3genes was revealed. This study confirms the relevance of using the single SNP detection according to the single trait approach in associative studies, even for small sample numbers