RT Journal T1 DNA METHYLATION PATTERN OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR ALPHA (ERΑ) GENE PROMOTER REGION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MILK PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE IN XINONG SAANEN DAIRY GOATS A1 Gaofeng Pei A1 Pei Gao A1 Haonan Li A1 Tao Liang A1 Feng Wang A1 Chuanying Pan A1 Hong Chen A1 Xianyong Lan JF Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JO JAPS SN 1018-7081 VO 25 IS 3 SP 798 OP 808 YR 2015 FD 2015/06/01 DO DOI NA AB

The aim of this study was to identify DNA methylation pattern of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) gene promoter region and to evaluate its association with milk production performance of Xinong Saanen dairy goats. The results showed that there was no significant difference in DNA methylation percentage (MP) in mammary glands samples collected during dry period and milking period. Interestingly, the methylation of ERαgene was breed-specific, and the high milk yielding breed of Xinong Saanen dairy goats appeared to be linked with hypomethylation of the gene (P<0.001) when compared with other dairy breeds. Methylation share rate (MSR) of Xinong Saanen dairy goats ranged from 0 to 0.105. Furthermore, the DNA MP in whole blood samples was significantly higher than that in mammary gland (P<0.001), suggesting that the methylation of this gene was tissue-specific. For the average milk density (AMD), the DNA methylation level of ERα gene in junior AMD group (JP) was significantly lower than that in senior AMD group (SP) (P<0.05). The MP of CpG-12 and CpG-15 dinucleotide loci of SP group were significantly higher than those of JP group (P<0.05 and P<0.05), respectively. Therefore, the two specific CpG-dinucleotide loci can be considered as epigenetic markers, which may contribute in improving milk production performance through epigenetic marker-assisted selection (eMAS) in dairy goats.

K1 Dairy goat; Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) gene; DNA methylation; Milk production performance; Influence PB Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum LK https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=2015-JAPS-109