A systems genetics approach for improving feed efficiency in Nellore cattle

• Grant number: 14/00307-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: May 01, 2014
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Genetics and Improvement of Domestic Animals
• Principal Investigator: Joanir Pereira Eler
• Grantee: Pâmela Almeida Alexandre
• Supervisor: Haja Kadarmideen
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/14792-3 - Characterization of global gene expression associated with feed efficiency in Nelore cattle, BP.MS

Abstract

The beef cattle industry has a significant role in the production of greenhouse gases. One way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is selecting animals with high feed efficiency, which consume less food and therefore generate less manure and methane per kilogram of meat produced, improving the productivity and sustainability of beef cattle industry. Although extremely important, this trait in cattle is challenging to be measured in field conditions making it ideal for research of specific molecular pathways responsible for the phenotype. Some studies have been conducted in order to identify causal genes through differential gene expression between individuals divergent for a particular phenotype. Systems genetics is a specialized version of systems biology that aims to clarify, through complex relationships between molecules, the genetic variants that regulate certain traits. Thus, here we aim to apply a systems genetics approach using innovative methods of bioinformatics to our global gene expression data from our experiments on feed efficiency in Nellore cattle. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ALEXANDRE, PAMELA A.; KOGELMAN, LISETTE J. A.; SANTANA, MIGUEL H. A.; PASSARELLI, DANIELLE; PULZ, LIDIA H.; FANTINATO-NETO, PAULO; SILVA, PAULO L.; LEME, PAULO R.; STREFEZZI, RICARDO F.; COUTINHO, LUIZ L.; et al. Liver transcriptomic networks reveal main biological processes associated with feed efficiency in beef cattle. BMC Genomics, v. 16, DEC 18 2015. (14/02493-7, 14/07566-2, 12/14792-3, 14/00307-1)