Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 June 2024 | Viewed by 4200

Special Issue Editors

1. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
2. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
3. College of Animal &Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: sheep; goat; genetics; breeding; genome; genomics; gene regulation; agricultural traits; animal reproduction; muscle development; fat deposition
1. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
2. Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
3. College of Animal &Veterinary Sciences, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: sheep; goat; genetics; breeding; genome; genomics; gene regulation; agricultural traits; muscle development; fat deposition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sheep and goat species diverged about 4 million years ago, and were the earliest domesticated animals with economic and nutritional value. As a result of natural and artificial selection over a long period of time, there are now nearly 2,000 species of sheep and goats in the world. Before the 19th century, wool sales were the main income of the sheep industry. Since then, sheep or goat production has gradually changed from wool to both wool and meat, and then to meat, which resulted in changes in their breeding direction and a corresponding hybrid utilization system. Nevertheless, sheep and goats show their own characteristics in regard to reproductive rate, cashmere yield, meat yield, meat quality and other production performances, as well as different degrees of stimulation in their germplasm resources, providing excellent opportunities to explore the evolution and heredity of sheep and goats. In recent years, with the development of the sheep and goat genome, the most important questions related to the promotion of biological research and breeding of these important animals are highly relevant topics of inquiry; this includes the exploration of the genetic basis of important production traits in sheep and goats, and the functional anatomy of key genes.

To this end, this Special Issue invites research articles, reviews, and short communications that include, but are not limited to, the following: genetics analysis and improvements in breeding the important traits of sheep and goats, molecular function dissection, gene regulation mechanisms, gene family evolution, expression regulation networks, and other studies of sheep and goats using high-throughput data.

Dr. Yan Xiong
Prof. Dr. Yaqiu Lin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

 

Keywords

  • goat
  • sheep
  • genetics
  • muscle development
  • fat deposition
  • regulatory
  • network
  • sequencing
  • function
  • co-expression
  • transcriptomics
  • physiological regulation of animal reproduction
  • mechanism
  • QTL
  • reproduction trait
  • cashmere production trait

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 235 KiB  
Article
Fitting of Growth Curves and Estimation of Genetic Relationship between Growth Parameters of Qianhua Mutton Merino
by Jiarong Li, Xuesong Shan, Yang Chen, Chongshun Xu, Lin Tang and Huaizhi Jiang
Genes 2024, 15(3), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15030390 - 21 Mar 2024
Viewed by 275
Abstract
Qianhua Mutton Merino is a dual-purpose (meat and wool) breed of sheep that has been newly developed in China. In this study, we assessed the growth and development of the Qianhua Mutton Merino sheep breed under house feeding conditions by measuring the body [...] Read more.
Qianhua Mutton Merino is a dual-purpose (meat and wool) breed of sheep that has been newly developed in China. In this study, we assessed the growth and development of the Qianhua Mutton Merino sheep breed under house feeding conditions by measuring the body weight and chest circumference of 2300 rams and ewes of this breed aged 0–24 months. Based on the fitting results of three nonlinear growth models, namely Logistic, Gompertz, and von Bertalanffy, in Qianhua Mutton Merino, we selected the von Bertalanffy model because of its highest fitting degree among all models (R2 > 0.977). The significant analysis of the combined fixation of each sheep body’s weight and bust took place (A: mature body weight, B: adjustment parameter, K: instant relative growth rate). The results revealed that parameters A, B, and K of body weight and chest circumference have high heritability and thus could be used as target traits for genetic improvement. Moreover, the correlation strength among A, B, and K suggested that these parameters can be used as a reference to adjust the genetic parameters in the growth model to genetically improve the body size of Qianhua Mutton Merino during breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat)
17 pages, 4861 KiB  
Article
Goat miR-92a-3p Targets APOL6 Gene to Regulate the Differentiation of Intramuscular Precursor Adipocytes
by Wuqie Qubi, Jianying Zheng, Youli Wang, Guishan Xu, Yanyan Li, Yan Xiong, Yong Wang, Wei Liu and Yaqiu Lin
Genes 2024, 15(1), 57; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15010057 - 30 Dec 2023
Viewed by 789
Abstract
The quality of lamb meat is positively correlated with intramuscular fat content. In recent years, a large number of studies have shown that miRNAs play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes. In this study, we aimed to explore the [...] Read more.
The quality of lamb meat is positively correlated with intramuscular fat content. In recent years, a large number of studies have shown that miRNAs play an important role in the proliferation and differentiation of adipocytes. In this study, we aimed to explore the effect of miR-92a-3p on the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes. The results showed that the expression level of miR-92a-3p was low in the early stage of differentiation, reached the highest level on the third day of differentiation, and then decreased. And miR-92a-3p can inhibit the accumulation of lipid droplets and down-regulate the determinants of adipogenic differentiation. Mechanistically, by predicting target genes, we found that miR-92a-3p affects the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes and the accumulation of lipid droplets by regulating the expression of goat gene APOL6. This study provides important new information to better understand the relationship between miRNAs and the differentiation of goat intramuscular preadipocytes, thus providing a new reference for goat intramuscular adipogenesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat)
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14 pages, 3345 KiB  
Article
FOS Inhibits the Differentiation of Intramuscular Adipocytes in Goats
by Tingting Hu, Zhibin Li, Chengsi Gong, Yan Xiong, Shiyu Sun, Jiani Xing, Yanyan Li, Ruiwen Li, Youli Wang, Yong Wang and Yaqiu Lin
Genes 2023, 14(11), 2088; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14112088 - 17 Nov 2023
Viewed by 733
Abstract
Goat intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition is precisely regulated by many key genes as well as transcription factors. Nevertheless, the potential of the regulators of goat IMF deposition remains undefined. In this work, we reported that the transcription factor FOS is expressed at a [...] Read more.
Goat intramuscular fat (IMF) deposition is precisely regulated by many key genes as well as transcription factors. Nevertheless, the potential of the regulators of goat IMF deposition remains undefined. In this work, we reported that the transcription factor FOS is expressed at a low level at the early differentiation stage and at a high level in late differentiation. The overexpression of FOS inhibited intramuscular adipocyte lipid accumulation and significantly downregulated the expressions of PPARγ, C/EBPβ, C/EBPα, AP2, SREBP1, FASN, ACC, HSL, and ATGL. Consistently, the knockdown of FOS, facilitated by two distinct siRNAs, significantly promoted intramuscular adipocyte lipid accumulation. Moreover, our analysis revealed multiple potential binding sites for FOS on the promoters of PPARγ, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPα. The expression changes in PPARγ, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPα during intramuscular adipogenesis were opposite to that of FOS. In summary, FOS inhibits intramuscular lipogenesis in goats and potentially negatively regulates the expressions of PPARγ, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPα genes. Our research will provide valuable data for the underlying molecular mechanism of the FOS regulation network of intramuscular lipogenesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat)
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16 pages, 5183 KiB  
Article
Integrated Transcriptome Analysis of miRNAs and mRNAs in the Skeletal Muscle of Wuranke Sheep
by Yueying Yun, Rihan Wu, Xige He, Xia Qin, Lu Chen, Lina Sha, Xueyan Yun, Tadayuki Nishiumi and Gerelt Borjigin
Genes 2023, 14(11), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes14112034 - 31 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1034
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regarded as important regulators in skeletal muscle development. To reveal the regulatory roles of miRNAs and their target mRNAs underlying the skeletal muscle development of Wuranke sheep, we investigated the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in the biceps femoris [...] Read more.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regarded as important regulators in skeletal muscle development. To reveal the regulatory roles of miRNAs and their target mRNAs underlying the skeletal muscle development of Wuranke sheep, we investigated the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in the biceps femoris of these sheep at the fetal (3 months of gestation) and 3- and 15-month-old postnatal stages. Consequently, a total of 1195 miRNAs and 24,959 genes were identified. Furthermore, 474, 461, and 54 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) and 6783, 7407, and 78 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected among three comparative groups. Functional analysis demonstrated that the target mRNAs of the DEMs were enriched in multiple pathways related to muscle development. Moreover, the interactions among several predicted miRNA–mRNA pairs (oar-miR-133-HDAC1, oar-miR-1185-5p-MYH1/HADHA/OXCT1, and PC-5p-3703_578-INSR/ACTG1) that potentially affect skeletal muscle development were verified using dual-luciferase reporter assays. In this study, we identified the miRNA and mRNA differences in the skeletal muscle of Wuranke sheep at different developmental stages and revealed that a series of candidate miRNA–mRNA pairs may act as modulators of muscle development. These results will contribute to future studies on the function of miRNAs and their target mRNAs during skeletal muscle development in Wuranke sheep. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat)
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Review

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35 pages, 1318 KiB  
Review
Genomic Regions Associated with Resistance to Gastrointestinal Nematode Parasites in Sheep—A Review
by Samla Marques Freire Cunha, Stephanie Lam, Bonnie Mallard, Niel A. Karrow and Ángela Cánovas
Genes 2024, 15(2), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15020187 - 30 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 925
Abstract
Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) can be a major constraint and global challenge to the sheep industry. These nematodes infect the small intestine and abomasum of grazing sheep, causing symptoms such as weight loss, diarrhea, hypoproteinemia, and anemia, which can lead to death. The use [...] Read more.
Gastrointestinal nematodes (GINs) can be a major constraint and global challenge to the sheep industry. These nematodes infect the small intestine and abomasum of grazing sheep, causing symptoms such as weight loss, diarrhea, hypoproteinemia, and anemia, which can lead to death. The use of anthelmintics to treat infected animals has led to GIN resistance, and excessive use of these drugs has resulted in residue traced in food and the environment. Resistance to GINs can be measured using multiple traits, including fecal egg count (FEC), Faffa Malan Chart scores, hematocrit, packed cell volume, eosinophilia, immunoglobulin (Ig), and dagginess scores. Genetic variation among animals exists, and understanding these differences can help identify genomic regions associated with resistance to GINs in sheep. Genes playing important roles in the immune system were identified in several studies in this review, such as the CFI and MUC15 genes. Results from several studies showed overlapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with multiple traits measuring resistance to GINs, mainly FEC. The discovery of genomic regions, positional candidate genes, and QTLs associated with resistance to GINs can help increase and accelerate genetic gains in sheep breeding programs and reveal the genetic basis and biological mechanisms underlying this trait. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics and Genomics of Sheep and Goat)
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