Genetic correlations between mature cow weight and productive and reproductive traits in Nellore cattle

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Random regression models using Legendre polynomials or linear splines for test-day milk yield of dairy Gyr (Bos indicus) cattle

Studies investigating the use of random regression models for genetic evaluation of milk production in Zebu cattle are scarce. In this study, 59,744 test-day milk yield records from 7,810 first lactations of purebred dairy Gyr (Bos indicus) and crossbred (dairy Gyr × Holstein) cows were used to compare random regression models in which additive genetic and permanent environmental effects were modeled using orthogonal Legendre polynomials or linear spline functions. Residual variances were modeled considering 1, 5, or 10 classes of days in milk. Five classes fitted the changes in residual variances over the lactation adequately and were used for model comparison. The model that fitted linear spline functions with 6 knots provided the lowest sum of residual variances across lactation. On the other hand, according to the deviance information criterion (DIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC), a model using third-order and fourth-order Legendre polynomials for additive genetic and permanent environmental effects, respectively, provided the best fit. However, the high rank correlation (0.998) between this model and that applying third-order Legendre polynomials for additive genetic and permanent environmental effects, indicates that, in practice, the same bulls would be selected by both models. The last model, which is less parameterized, is a parsimonious option for fitting dairy Gyr breed test-day milk yield records. © 2013 American Dairy Science Association.

Leaf Morphological Plasticity of Tree Species from Two Developmental Stages in Araucaria Forest

This study compared the morphological and anatomical variations of the leaves of four shade-tolerant tree species Allophylus edulis (St.-Hil.) Radlk (Sapindaceae), Casearia sylvestris Sw. (Salicaceae), Cupania vernalis Cambess. (Sapindaceae) and Luehea divaricata Mart. (Malvaceae) from a fragment of Araucaria forest in two developmental stages. Morphological and anatomical traits, such as leaf and tissue thickness, leaf area, leaf dry mass, specific leaf area, leaf density and stomata density were measured from 30 leaves of each developmental stage. The phenotypic plasticity index was also calculated for each quantitative trait. The results showed that the four species presented higher mean values ​​for specific leaf area and spongy/palisade parenchyma ratio at young stage, and higher mean values ​​for stomata density, total and palisade parenchyma thickness in the adult stage. The plasticity index demonstrated that L. divricata presented highest plasticity for both the morphological and anatomical traits while A. edulis displayed the lowest plasticity index. The results of this study indicated that the leaves of these species exhibited distinct morphological traits at each stage of development to cope with acting environmental factors.

Genome-wide association study for feedlot average daily gain in Nellore cattle (Bos indicus)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Prefiro aprender do que decorar : a cultura audiovisual e a crítica dos alunos à realidade escolar

The present work aims to bring up a discussion around the viability of traditional teaching methods in a world predominantly technological and imagetic. A project conducted in the discipline of history, in a state school through the Núcleo de Ensino (Center for Teaching) UNESP Marília, we applied questionnaires that aimed to map aspects of the visual culture of the students, and their perception of everyday reality in school. Using the SPSS software, the issues of quantitative trait were analyzed, providing a critique of the teaching methods used by teachers, whereas the use of images has been revealed as a proposal capable of stimulating an education based on interaction and dialogue, approaching the socio-cultural reality of learners.

A Genome-Wide Association Study for Morphometric Traits in Quarter Horse

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Speed Index in the Racing Quarter Horse: A Genome-wide Association Study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phenotypic, genetic and environmental parameters for traits related to femur bone integrity and body weight at 42 days of age in a broiler population

Intense selection among broilers, especially for performance and carcass traits, currently favors locomotion problems and bone resistance. Conducting studies relating to development and growth of bone tissue in broilers is necessary to minimize losses. Thus, genetic parameters were estimated for a broiler population's phenotypic traits such as BW at 42 d of age (BW42), chilled femur weight (CFW) and its yield (CFY), and femur measurements: calcium, DM, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc content; breaking strength; rigidity; length; and thickness. Variance components were estimated through multitrait analyses using the restricted maximum likelihood method. The model included a fixed group effect (sex and hatch) and additive and residual genetic random effects. The heritability estimates we obtained ranged from 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.50 ± 0.08 for chilled femur yield and BW42, respectively, and indicated that the traits can respond to the selection process, except for CFY, which presented low-magnitude heritability coefficients. Genetic correlation estimates between breaking strength, rigidity, and traits related to mineral content indicated that selection that aims to improve the breaking strength resistance of the femur is highly correlated with mineral content. Given the genetic correlation estimates between BW42 and minerals, it is suggested that in this population, selection for BW42 can be performed with greater intensity without affecting femoral integrity.

DEPTOR Cell-Autonomously Promotes Adipogenesis, and Its Expression Is Associated with Obesity

DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) inhibits the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), but its in vivo functions are unknown. Previous work indicates that Deptor is part of the Fob3a quantitative trait locus (QTL) linked to obesity/leanness in mice, with Deptor expression being elevated in white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese animals. This relation is unexpected, considering the positive role of mTOR in adipogenesis. Here, we dissected the Fob3a QTL and show that Deptor is the highest-priority candidate promoting WAT expansion in this model. Consistently, transgenic mice overexpressing DEPTOR accumulate more WAT. Furthermore, in humans, DEPTOR expression in WAT correlates with the degree of obesity. We show that DEPTOR is induced by glucocorticoids during adipogenesis and that its overexpression promotes, while its suppression blocks, adipogenesis. DEPTOR activates the proadipogenic Akt/PKB-PPAR-gamma axis by dampening mTORC1-mediated feedback inhibition of insulin signaling. These results establish DEPTOR as a new regulator of adipogenesis.

Strategy and model building in the fourth dimension: a null model for genotype × age interaction as a Gaussian stationary stochastic process

Abstract Background Using univariate and multivariate variance components linkage analysis methods, we studied possible genotype × age interaction in cardiovascular phenotypes related to the aging process from the Framingham Heart Study. Results We found evidence for genotype × age interaction for fasting glucose and systolic blood pressure. Conclusions There is polygenic genotype × age interaction for fasting glucose and systolic blood pressure and quantitative trait locus × age interaction for a linkage signal for systolic blood pressure phenotypes located on chromosome 17 at 67 cM.

Functional markers for gene mapping and genetic diversity studies in sugarcane

Abstract Background The database of sugarcane expressed sequence tags (EST) offers a great opportunity for developing molecular markers that are directly associated with important agronomic traits. The development of new EST-SSR markers represents an important tool for genetic analysis. In sugarcane breeding programs, functional markers can be used to accelerate the process and select important agronomic traits, especially in the mapping of quantitative traits loci (QTL) and plant resistant pathogens or qualitative resistance loci (QRL). The aim of this work was to develop new simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in sugarcane using the sugarcane expressed sequence tag (SUCEST database). Findings A total of 365 EST-SSR molecular markers with trinucleotide motifs were developed and evaluated in a collection of 18 genotypes of sugarcane (15 varieties and 3 species). In total, 287 of the EST-SSRs markers amplified fragments of the expected size and were polymorphic in the analyzed sugarcane varieties. The number of alleles ranged from 2-18, with an average of 6 alleles per locus, while polymorphism information content values ranged from 0.21-0.92, with an average of 0.69. The discrimination power was high for the majority of the EST-SSRs, with an average value of 0.80. Among the markers characterized in this study some have particular interest, those that are related to bacterial defense responses, generation of precursor metabolites and energy and those involved in carbohydrate metabolic process. Conclusions These EST-SSR markers presented in this work can be efficiently used for genetic mapping studies of segregating sugarcane populations. The high Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) and Discriminant Power (DP) presented facilitate the QTL identification and marker-assisted selection due the association with functional regions of the genome became an important tool for the sugarcane breeding program.

Approcci molecolari e bioinformatici volti alla caratterizzazione di Vgt1, QTL coinvolto nella regolazione dell'epoca di fioritura in Zea Mays

The genetic control of flowering time has been addressed by many quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies. A survey of the results from 29 independent studies reporting information on 441 QTLs led to the production of a QTL consensus map, which enabled the identification of 59 chromosome regions distributed on all chromosomes and shown to be frequently involved in the genetic control of flowering time and related traits. One of the major QTLs for flowering time, the Vegetative to generative transition 1 (Vgt1) locus , corresponds to an upstream (70 kb) non-coding regulatory element of ZmRap2.7, a repressor of flowering. A transposon (MITE) insertion was identified as a major allelic difference within Vgt1. One of the hypotheses is that Vgt1 might function by modifying ZmRap2.7 chromatin through an epigenetic mechanism. Therefore, the methylation state at Vgt1 was investigated using an approach that combines digestion with McrBc, an endonuclease that acts upon methylated DNA, and quantitative PCR. The analyses were performed on genomic DNA from leaves of six different maize lines at four stages of development. The results showed a trend of reduction of methylation from the first to the last stage with the exception of a short genomic region flanking the MITE insertion, which showed a constant and very dense methylation throughout leaf development and for both alleles. Preliminary results from bisulfite sequencing of a small portion of Vgt1 revealed differential methylation of a single cytosine residue between the two alleles. ZmRap2.7 expression was assayed in the four developmental stages afore mentioned for the six genotypes, in order to establish a link between methylation at Vgt1 and ZmRap2.7 transcription. To assess the role of Vgt1 as a transcriptional enhancer, two reporter vectors for stable transformation of plants have been developed.

Molecular characterization of five porcine candidate genes for drip loss in pork

Drip loss is the loss of fluid from a piece of meat without mechanical force and represents an important meat quality trait. Previous work revealed a quantitative trait locus (QTL) for drip loss in pork in an experimental Duroc x Pietrain (DUPI) F2 family on SSC 5. Based on functional data indicating their possible involvement in water holding capacity and their expression in skeletal muscle, we selected five positional candidates (ACO2, ADSL, CBY1, KCNJ4, PLA2AG6) out of 130 predicted genes in the QTL interval for further analysis. We performed a mutation analysis of all coding exons and discovered 204 polymorphisms. We genotyped 39 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 192 Pietrain pigs with extreme drip loss phenotypes and detected a possible association with drip loss for one non-coding SNP in the ADSL gene (ss107793818, p(raw) = 0.021). Correspondingly, ADSL diplotypes were associated with drip loss and pH1 of M. longissimus dorsi. However, after correction for multiple testing, none of the tested SNPs were significantly associated with drip loss. One possible explanation for these results is that one of the QTL-alleles from the experimental DUPI family may be fixed or nearly fixed in the tested Pietrain population.

Social Cognition and Neural Substrates of Face Perception: Implications for Neurodevelopmental and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

BACKGROUND: Social cognition is an important aspect of social behavior in humans. Social cognitive deficits are associated with neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study we examine the neural substrates of social cognition and face processing in a group of healthy young adults to examine the neural substrates of social cognition. METHODS: Fifty-seven undergraduates completed a battery of social cognition tasks and were assessed with electroencephalography (EEG) during a face-perception task. A subset (N=22) were administered a face-perception task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Variance in the N170 EEG was predicted by social attribution performance and by a quantitative measure of empathy. Neurally, face processing was more bilateral in females than in males. Variance in fMRI voxel count in the face-sensitive fusiform gyrus was predicted by quantitative measures of social behavior, including the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Empathizing Quotient. CONCLUSIONS: When measured as a quantitative trait, social behaviors in typical and pathological populations share common neural pathways. The results highlight the importance of viewing neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders as spectrum phenomena that may be informed by studies of the normal distribution of relevant traits in the general population. Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular characterization of the equine collagen, type IX, alpha 2 (COL9A2) gene on horse chromosome 2p16-->p15

The mammalian collagen, type IX, alpha 2 gene (COL9A2) encodes the alpha-2 chain of type IX collagen and is located on horse chromosome 2p16-->p14 harbouring a quantitative trait locus for osteochondrosis. We isolated a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clone containing the equine COL9A2 gene and determined the complete genomic sequence of this gene. Cloning and characterization of equine COL9A2 revealed that the equine gene consists of 32 exons spanning approximately 15 kb. The COL9A2 transcript encodes a single protein of 688 amino acids. Thirty two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) equally distributed in the gene were detected in a mutation scan of eight unrelated Hanoverian warmblood stallions, including one SNP that affects the amino acid sequence of COL9A2. Comparative analyses between horse, human, mouse and rat indicate that the chromosomal location of equine COL9A2 is in agreement with known chromosomal synteny relationships. The comparison of the gene structure and transcript revealed a high degree of conservation towards the other mammalian COL9A2 genes. We chose three informative SNPs for association and linkage disequilibrium tests in three to five paternal half-sib families of Hanoverian warmblood horses consisting of 44 to 75 genotyped animals. The test statistics did not reach the significance threshold of 5% and so we could not show an association of COL9A2 with equine osteochondrosis.