Genome-wide methylation profile and co-methylation analysis applied to feed effici...
| Grant number: | 16/20440-3 |
| Support type: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | January 01, 2017 |
| Effective date (End): | February 16, 2020 |
| Field of knowledge: | Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Genetics and Improvement of Domestic Animals |
| Cooperation agreement: | Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) |
| Principal Investigator: | Luiz Lehmann Coutinho |
| Grantee: | Fábio Pértille |
| Home Institution: | Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil |
| Associated research grant: | 14/08704-0 - Identification of loci of interest for poultry production, AP.TEM |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 18/13600-0 - Methylome and transcriptome analysis of chickens subjected to illumination stress in the livestock production environment, BE.EP.PD |
Abstract Farm animals are constantly subjected to adverse environmental conditions. These conditions affect adult animal phenotype especially when they occur in early life (before and after birth). These influences include chemical exposures or any adverse environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity and luminous exposure. Epigenetic is the study of these dynamical interactions that changes the transcriptional potential of the cell. Environmental effects naturally cause changes in molecules that interact with DNA. These molecular interactions affect the gene expression. Several kind of epigenetic DNA interactions happens according to the environmental experience of the animal. One of them is DNA methylation or hydroxymethylation of CpG dinucleotide. Changes in DNA methylation may be associated with a number of phenotypic changes for example, plume color changes and increased propensity for diseases. Particularly in some situations, it is possible to identify hormones acting as markers to acute stress, but these marks tell us nothing when it comes from prolonged stress. However, epigenetic marks can serve as prolonged stress markers. Few epigenetics studies have been conducted using farm animals. However, the chicken has suggested as a promising model for epigenetic studies in recent years. The purpose of our study is to investigate the methylation profile in the brain and blood of chickens under stressful conditions in farm environments. The results of this research have an impact from the animal welfare viewpoint and serve as a basis for the use of epigenetic tools to determine the stress exposure during animal's life. (AU) | |