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Gene co-expression networks contributing to the expression of compensatory growth in metabolically active tissues in cattle
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2019-04-15
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Keogh, K., Kenny, D.A. & Waters, S.M. Gene co-expression networks contributing to the expression of compensatory growth in metabolically active tissues in cattle. Sci Rep 9, 6093 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42608-w
Abstract
Compensatory growth (CG) is an accelerated growth phenomenon which occurs in animals upon
re-alimentation following a period of dietary restriction. The objective of this study was to perform
gene co-expression analysis on metabolic tissues of animals undergoing CG, in order to elucidate the
molecular control governing this phenomenon. Thirty Holstein Friesian bulls were fed a restricted
diet for 125 days, after which they received feed ad libitum. Following 55 days of ad libitum feeding all
animals were slaughtered. RNAseq and gene co-expression analyses were performed on tissue samples
collected at slaughter including liver, rumen papillae and jejunum epithelium tissues. A period of CG
resulted in 15 networks of co-expressed genes. One network of genes, involved in proteasome core
complex, signal transduction and protein synthesis was found to be similar across liver and jejunum
tissue datasets (r=0.68, P=0.04). Results from this study also showed that a large portion of coexpressed genes had not previously been implicated in the expression of CG, thus this study identifes
novel genes involved in controlling CG across tissues, with hub genes holding potential for use as
biomarkers for the selection of animals with a greater propensity to display CG.