Search Results (138)

This experiment investigated the effects of dietary Artemisia ordosica Krasch. (AOK) supplementation on the n3-polyunsaturated fatty acid (n3-PUFA) profile of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SADT) in Arbas cashmere goats and explored the underlying transcriptional mechanisms. Forty healthy, weaned kids (120 ± 10 days of age; similar body weight) were randomly allocated to two groups (n = 20): a control group (CON, basal diet) and an AOK group (AOK, basal diet with 3% of the roughage replaced by AOK). The feeding trial spanned 104 days, consisting of a 14-day adaptation period and 90 days of data acquisition. Compared with the CON group, AOK significantly reduced the content of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and n6-polyunsaturated fatty acids (n6-PUFAs)/n3-PUFAs (n6/n3). In contrast, the levels of n3-PUFAs in the SADT of cashmere goats increased markedly (p < 0.05). Compared with the CON group, AOK exhibited significantly higher activities of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) (p = 0.027), adenylyl cyclase 2 (ADCY2) (p = 0.010), adenylyl cyclase 5 (ADCY5) (p = 0.046), cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) (p = 0.013), solute carrier family 27 member 4 (SLC27A4) (p = 0.021), and fatty acid binding protein 4 (FABP4) (p = 0.040), along with significantly lower activities of fatty acid synthase (FAS) (p = 0.002), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) (p = 0.048), and stearoyl-coa desaturase (SCD) (p = 0.026) in SADT. Compared with the CON group, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (p = 0.032), catalase (CAT) (p = 0.010), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) (p = 0.029), and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) (p = 0.002) were significantly increased in the AOK group. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that AOK supplementation downregulated mRNA levels of ADCY2, ADCY5, LPL, FAS, SCD, stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 2 (SCD2), glycogen synthase 1 (GYS1), acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1), acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1), fatty acid desaturase 1 (FADS1), solute carrier family 27 member 2 (SLC27A2), erythroblastic leukemia viral oncogene homolog 4 (ERBB4), and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B (CPT1B) (p < 0.05). It also markedly induced acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4) (p < 0.01) in SADT. Genes significantly enriched in the adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway included LPL, SCD1, CPT1B, and GYS1 (p = 0.010). Genes significantly enriched in the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-akt (PI3K-Akt) signaling pathway included GYS1 and ERBB4 (p = 0.015). CPT1B, ADCY2, and GYS1 were identified as the genes significantly enriched in the insulin resistance signaling pathway (p = 0.048). LPL was the only gene significantly enriched in the cholesterol metabolism pathway (p = 0.049). Genes showing a tendency toward significant enrichment in the peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway included ACSL4, CPT1B, SCD1, and LPL (p = 0.051). These interconnected cascades improve insulin sensitivity, stimulate triglyceride (TG) hydrolysis, and modulate n3-PUFA levels. Supplementation with AOK enhances n3-PUFA content by accelerating TG breakdown while simultaneously restraining FA oxidation in SADT. Consequently, AOK supplementation can be effectively used to enhance the nutritional value of cashmere goat meat through improved n3-PUFA deposition in SADT. Full article

Hair follicles are highly specialized mini-organs within the skin that drive the production of wool and cashmere, traits of major biological and economic importance in sheep and goats. Despite their microscopic size, hair follicles exhibit extraordinary regulatory complexity, integrating genetic programs with seasonal, endocrine, environmental, and epigenetic cues. Although transcriptional networks and signaling pathways underlying follicle morphogenesis and cycling have been extensively investigated, the post-transcriptional mechanisms that fine-tune these processes remain insufficiently understood. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as pivotal post-transcriptional regulators that coordinate cell fate determination, lineage commitment, and tissue homeostasis. Growing evidence indicates that miRNAs play essential roles in hair follicle stem cell maintenance, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and organ-level development, functioning through interconnected regulatory networks rather than isolated linear pathways. By modulating the expression of key follicle-determining genes and signaling components, miRNA-mediated regulation shapes follicle formation, cyclic regeneration, and fiber traits. In this review, we synthesize recent advances in miRNA research related to hair follicle biology, with a particular focus on wool- and cashmere-bearing mammals. We integrate findings across species to propose a systems-level framework in which miRNA networks interface with canonical signaling pathways and epigenetic mechanisms to orchestrate follicle development and regeneration. Conserved and species-specific regulatory principles are discussed to bridge fundamental follicle biology with practical applications in fiber production. Overall, this review highlights miRNAs as a critical yet previously underappreciated regulatory layer in hair follicle biology. A deeper understanding of miRNA-mediated control provides new conceptual insights into wool and cashmere development and offers a foundation for future molecular breeding and precision regulation strategies in livestock. Full article

Dynamic changes in gene and transcript expression represent a key factor in regulating the cyclical development of hair follicles. In this study, based on Nanopore sequencing (ONT-seq) data of skin tissue from three developmental stages (anagen (An), catagen (Cn), and telogen (Tn)) of Jiangnan cashmere goat hair follicles, this study presents a profile of candidate DETs implicated in cycle regulation by delineating their stage-specific expression patterns and dynamic expression trends from anagen to telogen. A large proportion of the candidate DETs were significantly enriched in functions related to fat synthesis, storage, or metabolism, with significance levels of p < 0.05 or p < 0.01. These significantly enriched DETs, which were generally upregulated from An to Cn or downregulated from Cn to Tn, support a model where accelerated intradermal fat deposition promotes the progression from An to Cn, while its subsequent decrease facilitates the transition from Cn to Tn. Concurrently, our results also suggest a potential role for dynamic changes in AS patterns in regulating the hair follicle cycle. This regulatory role of AS patterns is potentially mediated through affecting genes related to lipid synthesis/metabolism or cell structure/interaction. Notably, a broader range of fat synthesis, storage, or metabolism-related transcripts showed significant differential expression (p < 0.05) in the An vs. Cn group. Ultimately, by establishing this candidate DET profile, we aim to provide fresh perspectives for deciphering the complex molecular regulation of the hair follicle cycle and to identify new targets for genetically enhancing or molecularly breeding cashmere traits in cashmere goats. Full article

Cashmere goats produce high-value fine fibers derived from secondary hair follicles; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying this trait remain incompletely understood. In this study, comparative transcriptome sequencing was performed on skin tissues from Inner Mongolian cashmere goats and normal goats to characterize gene expression differences associated with cashmere fiber production. High-quality RNA-seq data with strong mapping efficiency and reproducibility were obtained across all samples. Differential expression analysis identified 1543 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between cashmere and normal goats, including genes involved in hair follicle morphogenesis, epidermal differentiation, cell proliferation, and extracellular matrix organization. Multivariate analyses showed a clear transcriptomic separation between fleece types, indicating that fleece phenotype is the primary driver of variation in global gene expression. Functional enrichment revealed significant involvement of the Wnt, MAPK, and PI3K–Akt signaling pathways, and several biologically relevant regulators of hair follicle development and hair cycle control, including FGF5, SOX9, LHX2, and VDR, were differentially expressed. Gene fusion events were rare and showed no group specific patterns, whereas alternative splicing was widespread, with exon skipping as the predominant splicing event in goat skin. Overall, these results provide quantitative transcriptomic evidence linking signaling regulation, follicle development, and structural differentiation to secondary hair follicle activity and cashmere fiber formation, offering candidate genes and molecular pathways for functional validation and molecular breeding in cashmere goats. Full article

Background/Objectives: The Subo Merino sheep is a high-quality fine-wool breed developed through progressive hybridization, characterized by high wool yield and excellent wool quality. This study is designed to investigate the effects of two gene polymorphisms in Subo Merino sheep on wool traits, thereby providing critical theoretical and technical support for the breeding of high-quality fine-wool sheep. Methods: In this study, 944 one-year-old Subo Merino sheep were genotyped for coding regions of the BLTP1 and KIF27 genes using the Fluidigm BioMark™ HD system. Association between SNP loci and wool traits was analyzed via the least squares means method in SAS 9.4. Protein–protein interaction networks were constructed using the STRING database, and protein structures before and after mutation were predicted with SOPMA and SWISS-MODEL. Results: The results revealed that BLTP1 gene identified a missense mutation site SNP1, which resulted in a nucleotide change c.812 (C > T) and an amino acid change p.Pro271Leu. KIF27 gene identified a missense mutation site SNP2, which resulted in a nucleotide change c.3896 (T > C) and an amino acid change p.Met1299Thr. Association analysis showed that SNP1 had a significant effect on wool crimp number (CN) and staple length (SL) (p < 0.05), while SNP2 significantly affected live weight after shearing (LWAS) (p < 0.05). Protein structure prediction showed that mutations at SNP1 and SNP2 primarily led to changes in α-helix, extended chain, and random coil structures. Conclusions: These results suggest that SNP1 in BLTP1 and SNP2 in KIF27 could serve as potential molecular markers for wool traits in Subo Merino sheep. This study provides theoretical support and candidate gene targets for molecular marker-assisted breeding, contributing to genetic improvement and efficient breeding of this fine-wool breed. Full article

To clarify the age-related differences in growth performance, meat quality, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of Shanbei white cashmere (SWC) goats, the slaughter performance and meat quality of 6-month-old (S group) and 12-month-old (T group) male goats were analyzed. This was combined with muscle transcriptome and untargeted metabolome analyses. The results showed that the T group had better growth performance, while the S group had superior meat quality. A total of 138 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 158 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were identified, which are enriched in multiple pathways, and a meat quality-related gene–metabolite regulatory network was constructed. This study reveals the molecular mechanisms of age-dependent differences, providing theoretical support for goat breeding and slaughter strategy optimization. Full article

Secondary hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) are essential for cashmere fiber regeneration, yet the molecular mechanisms governing their activation and lineage progression remain poorly understood. Here, we identify S100a4 as a key regulator of secondary HFSCs in cashmere goat. S100a4 expression peaks during anagen and is markedly enriched in secondary HFSCs relative to hair matrix cells (HMCs), suggesting a role in initiating follicle regeneration. Functional assays show that S100a4 promotes HFSCs into a dynamically regulated state that activates stem cell competence while facilitating differentiation, with overexpression upregulating epidermal and follicular differentiation markers (Ivl, Cux1, K14, Klk5), as well as pluripotency genes (Itga6, Krt15), while knockdown suppresses these programs. Proteomic analysis further reveals direct interactions between S100A4 and keratins critical for hair follicle and epidermal development (KRT5, KRT14, KRT8, KRT18), suggesting a structural and regulatory interface through which S100A4 modulates HFSC fate. Collectively, these results establish S100a4 as a central modulator of secondary HFSC function and provide mechanistic insight into the molecular control of hair follicle regeneration, with potential implications for improving cashmere fiber production. Full article

Goat meat is widely valued as a healthy option due to its lean nature, yet strategies to further optimize its intrinsic nutritional composition remain a key objective. This study examined the influence of melatonin on muscle development and visceral fat deposition in cashmere goats, focusing on its role in augmenting systemic antioxidant capacity and modifying gut microbiota. Thirty goat kids were randomly assigned to a control or a melatonin-treated (2 mg/kg body weight) group. Melatonin implantation induced a metabolic shift characterized by reduced visceral fat deposition (perirenal, omental, and mesenteric fat; p < 0.05) without impacting intramuscular fat. Concurrently, it promoted muscle accretion, as demonstrated by an increase in crude protein content and hypertrophy of muscle fibers in the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum, Gluteus medius, and Biceps femoris muscles (p < 0.05). These effects were underpinned by an enhanced systemic antioxidant capacity (elevated CAT, GSH-Px, T-AOC, and reduced MDA; p < 0.05), changes in gut microbiota, and a concomitant improvement in gastrointestinal morphology, evidenced by increased rumen papilla length and intestinal villus height. Melatonin enriched beneficial genera (e.g., Succiniclasticum, Butyrivibrio, Akkermansia), which were significantly correlated with reduced adiposity and improved protein deposition. These improvements resulted from the concerted actions of an enhanced systemic antioxidant defense system and a beneficially modulated gut microbial community. This trial observed no effect on intramuscular fat deposition, suggesting that improving intramuscular fat may require a systematic fattening regimen. This study provides a scientific foundation for employing melatonin as a nutritional strategy in goat production to improve meat quality. Full article

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to play regulatory roles in various biological processes, including muscle growth and development. However, their specific roles in the myogenesis of cashmere goats have not been well understood. To address this gap, our study aimed to explore the transcriptomic features of lncRNAs during muscle formation in cashmere goats and identify key lncRNAs involved in this process. We utilized RNA-seq technology to profile lncRNAs at four distinct stages of longissimus dorsi muscle development in cashmere goats: 120 days of fetal age, 1 month, 3 months, and 10 months. Our analysis detected a total of 3480 lncRNAs, including 1141 novel ones. Through a bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation, we focused on a novel lncRNA, designated MSTRG.5182.1, which appears to have significant regulatory functions in cashmere goat myogenesis. We found that downregulating MSTRG.5182.1 inhibits myocyte proliferation and promotes myocyte differentiation. Moreover, knocking down MSTRG.5182.1 affects muscle growth and development by modulating the chi-miR-424-5p/IKBKG signaling pathway. Our study provides an expression profile of lncRNAs during cashmere goat muscle formation and highlights the key role of MSTRG.5182.1 in myogenesis via the chi-miR-424-5p/IKBKG pathway. These findings are crucial for elucidating the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying muscle development in cashmere goats and hold significant implications for molecular breeding and meat quality improvement in this species. Full article

The Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat (IMCG) industry is a major contributor to global cashmere production, with fleece traits serving as key economic indicators that directly impact both income and the long-term sustainability of the industry. When genome-wide SNPs are used to estimate kinship matrices, the traditional animal model implicitly assumes that all SNPs have the same effect-size distribution. However, in practice, there are differences in the genetic mechanisms and complexity of different traits. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 2299 IMCGs genotyped with 67,021 SNPs, which were obtained after imputation. The traits measured included cashmere yield (CY), wool length (WL), cashmere length (CL), and cashmere diameter (CD), with a total of 33,564 records collected. The top 5% to 20% of the significant SNPs from the GWAS were used as biological prior information. We then assigned proportional weights based on their contribution to the overall genetic variance and further integrated them with the remaining loci to construct a kinship relationship matrix for estimating genetic parameters and genomic breeding value. By incorporating prior marker information from the GWAS, it was found that the heritability estimates for CY, WL, CL, and CD were 0.26, 0.37, 0.09, and 0.35, respectively. For CY and CL, integrating the top 5% of prior SNP markers yielded the highest genomic prediction accuracies of 0.742 and 0.673, representing improvements of 16.67% and 19.75% over models that did not utilize prior information. In contrast, for WL and CD, the highest accuracies of 0.851 and 0.780 were achieved by integrating the top 10% of prior SNP markers, reflecting improvements of 9.81% and 10.14%, respectively. Compared with the conventional GBLUP method, this method of integrating GWAS-derived prior markers for genomic genetic evaluation can significantly improve the accuracy of genomic prediction for fleece traits in IMCGs. This approach facilitates accurate selection for fleece traits in IMCGs, enabling accelerated genetic progress through long-term breeding programs. Full article

The accuracy of genomic selection has a significant impact on the selection of superior individuals in livestock. Studies have reported that integrating GWAS information can improve the accuracy of genomic prediction. In this study, phenotypic data, systematic environmental data, and genotypic data of important economic traits (cashmere yield, cashmere diameter, body weight, and cashmere length) of Inner Mongolia cashmere goats were utilized. Based on the results of a previous genome-wide association study that considered additive and dominance effects, the top 5%, top 10%, top 15%, and top 20% of loci were extracted as prior marker information. The genomic breeding values for each trait were estimated using the GBLUP–GA method based on GWAS prior information, and the accuracy of genomic prediction was further evaluated using a five-fold cross-validation method. The results showed that the contribution of significant loci to the genetic variance of each trait gradually increased with an increase of the number of integrated loci. The genetic variance contribution rates of significant loci to cashmere yield, cashmere diameter, body weight, and cashmere length were 64–71%, 47–57%, 76–82%, and 66–80%, respectively. The additive heritability estimates for cashmere yield, cashmere diameter, body weight, and cashmere length using GWAS prior information were 0.252–0.266, 0.297–0.580, 0.305–0.330, and 0.107–0.117, respectively. These values were higher than those obtained using the traditional G matrix constructed from all loci, with increases of 0.052–0.066, 0.007–0.29, 0.134–0.159, and 0.015–0.025, respectively. The results of genomic prediction accuracy showed that when 5% of the GWAS prior information was integrated, the highest genomic prediction accuracy was achieved for cashmere yield (0.8156), body weight (0.8361), and cashmere length (0.7571). When 20% of the GWAS prior information was integrated, the genomic prediction accuracy for cashmere diameter was 0.8074, which was significantly higher than that at other levels. Additionally, it was found that the dominance heritability for cashmere diameter, body weight, and cashmere length was very small and could be ignored when integrating GWAS prior information. Therefore, when integrating prior information for genomic selection of these traits, the influence of dominance effects can be disregarded. Full article

In recent years, Machine Learning (ML) has garnered increasing attention for its applications in genomic prediction. ML effectively processes high-dimensional genomic data and establishes nonlinear models. Compared to traditional Genomic Selection (GS) methods, ML algorithms enhance computational efficiency and offer higher prediction accuracy. Therefore, this study strives to achieve the optimal machine learning algorithm for genome-wide selection of cashmere traits in Inner Mongolian cashmere goats. This study compared the genomic prediction accuracy of cashmere traits using four machine learning algorithms—Random Forest (RF), Extreme Gradient Boosting Tree (XGBoost), Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT), and LightGBM—based on genotype data and cashmere trait phenotypic data from 2299 Inner Mongolian cashmere goats. The results showed that after parameter optimization, LightGBM achieved the highest selection accuracy for fiber length (56.4%), RF achieved the highest selection accuracy for cashmere production (35.2%), and GBDT achieved the highest selection accuracy for cashmere diameter (40.4%), compared with GBLUP, the accuracy improved by 0.8–2.7%. Among the three traits, XGBoost exhibited the lowest prediction accuracy, at 0.541, 0.309, and 0.387. Additionally, following parameter optimization, the prediction accuracy of the four machine learning methods for cashmere fineness, cashmere yield, and fiber length improved by an average of 2.9%, 2.7%, and 3.8%, respectively. The mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) for all machine learning methods also decreased, indicating that hyperparameter tuning can enhance prediction accuracy in ML algorithms. Full article

The keratin-associated proteins (KAPs) are a class of wool proteins. They form a matrix that cross-links the wool intermediate filament keratins. The KAPs are thought to affect wool fibre structure and properties and have been associated with variation in wool fibre traits. There are many KAP genes in sheep, but not all have been identified. Recently a second member of the KAP22 gene family, KRTAP22-2, was identified in goats, and variation in this caprine gene was associated with cashmere fibre traits. In this study, we identified ovine KRTAP22-2. To ascertain the extent of variation in KRTAP22-2, sheep from eight breeds were investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. This revealed two unique banding patterns, which upon sequencing gave two novel DNA sequences. These differed by two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding region. Three genotypes of the novel KRTAP22-2 sequences were observed in the eight sheep breeds studied. The ovine KRTAP22-2 variant sequences were similar to a goat KRTAP22-2 variant, but a search of ovine expressed sequence tags revealed no matching mRNA sequences in the ovine databases. In a second part of the study, no association was found between the KRTAP22-2 genotypes and mean fibre diameter, fibre diameter standard deviation, coefficient of variation in fibre diameter, and mean fibre curvature, for either the fine wool or heterotypic hair fibres of 255 Chinese Tan lambs. These results suggests that sheep have a KRTAP22-2 gene, but that there may be species-specific differences in the gene’s expression or function. The gene may not affect wool traits in the way that it appears to in goats. Full article

Background/Objectives: The Jiangnan cashmere goat is a newly developed national cashmere goat breed in China, and the genetic stability of its traits is the core of breeding work. Methods: This study used 353 Jiangnan cashmere goats as research subjects. Descriptive statistics were performed on the key economic traits of the experimental population. Polymorphisms in the CXCL10, FOS, HOXC13, and WNT4 genes were detected using multiplex PCR. The correlation between single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci and key economic traits was analyzed using the least squares variance method in SAS 9.4 software. Results: A total of 14 SNP loci were detected in the four genes, of which 5 were in the CXCL10 gene. Three SNPs were detected in the FOS, HOXC13, and WNT4 genes. SNP3, SNP4, SNP6, SNP10, SNP11, SNP12, SNP13, and SNP14 were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The results of the correlation analysis showed that SNP9 of the HOXC13 gene was significantly correlated with birth weight (BW) and mean fiber diameter (MFD), SNP10 of the HOXC13 gene was significantly correlated with yearling weight (YW), and SNP14 of the WNT4 gene was significantly correlated with birth weight (BW) (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The results of this study provide molecular markers for cashmere goat breeding and an experimental basis for accelerating the cultivation of new strains, which is conducive to further optimizing the economic traits of the Jiangnan cashmere goat and ensuring the stable inheritance of its economic traits through molecular breeding. Full article