title: Transcriptomic Profiling of Spleen in Grass-Fed and Grain-Fed Angus Cattle.
abstract: The grass-fed cattle obtain nutrients directly from pastures containing limited assimilable energy but abundant amount of fiber; by contrast, grain-fed steers receive a diet that is comprised mainly of grains and serves as an efficient source of high-digestible energy. Besides energy, these two types of diet differ in a large number of nutritional components. Additionally, animals maintained on rich-energy regimen are more likely to develop metabolic disorders and infectious diseases than pasture raised individuals. Thus, we hypothesize that spleen-a relevant immune organ-may function differently under disparate regimes. The objective of this study was to find the differentially expressed genes in the spleen of grass-fed and grain-fed steers, and furtherly explore the potential involved biopathways. Through RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), we detected 123 differentially expressed genes. Based on these genes, we performed an Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and identified 9 significant molecular networks and 13 enriched biological pathways. Two of the pathways, Nur77 signaling in T lymphocytes and calcium-induced T lymphocyte apoptosis which are immune related, contain a pair of genes HLA-DRA and NR4A1 with dramatically altered expression level. Collectively, our results provided valuable insights into understanding the molecular mechanism of spleen under varied feeding regimens.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yaokun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States of America.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carrillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States of America.
authors.forename: Yanghua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Chunping
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jianan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Building 306, Room 111, BARC-East, Beltsville, Maryland, 20705, United States of America.
authors.forename: George E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Linsen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zan
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal & Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jiuzhou
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome