Zhao Yuefang, Yang Lei, Su Guanghua, Wei Zhuying, Liu Xuefei, Song Lishuang, Hai Chao, Wu Di, Hao Zhenting, Wu Yunxi, Zhang Li, Bai Chunling, Li Guangpeng
State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Regulation and Breeding of Grassland Livestock, College of Life Science, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China.
Life (Basel). 2022 Apr 23;12(5):627. doi: 10.3390/life12050627.
Chinese Yellow Cattle, an ancient and domesticated breed for draft service, provide unique animal genetic resources with excellent genetic features, including crude feed tolerance, good stress resistance, strong adaptability, and tender meat quality; however, their production performance and meat yield are significantly inferior. Herein, the myostatin gene (), a negative regulator of skeletal muscle development, was knocked out by CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Eight gene-edited bull calves (MT) were born, and six of them are well-developed. Compared with the control cattle (WT), the growth trait indexes of MT cattle were generally increased, and the hindquarters especially were significantly improved. The biochemical indexes and the semen characteristics demonstrated that MT bulls were healthy and fertile. Consistent with our conjecture, the wobble and beating of MT bull spermatozoa were significantly higher than that of WT. Nine sperm motility-related proteins and nineteen mitochondrial-related proteins were identified by up-regulation in MT bull spermatozoa using FLQ proteomic technique and act to govern sperm flagellum assembly, organization, and beating and provide sufficient energy for sperm motility. The current study confirmed that the gene-edited Chinese Yellow cattle have improved growth traits and normal fertility, which can be used for beef cattle production and breeding.
中国黄牛是一种古老的役用家畜品种，具有独特的动物遗传资源，具备优良的遗传特性，包括耐粗饲、抗应激能力强、适应性强以及肉质鲜嫩；然而，它们的生产性能和产肉量明显较低。在此，利用CRISPR/Cas9技术敲除了肌肉生长抑制素基因（），该基因是骨骼肌发育的负调控因子。出生了8头基因编辑的公牛犊（MT），其中6头发育良好。与对照牛（WT）相比，MT牛的生长性状指标普遍提高，尤其是后躯得到显著改善。生化指标和精液特性表明MT公牛健康且可育。与我们的推测一致，MT公牛精子的摆动和鞭打明显高于WT。使用FLQ蛋白质组学技术在MT公牛精子中鉴定出9种与精子活力相关的蛋白质和19种与线粒体相关的蛋白质，它们作用于精子鞭毛的组装、组织和鞭打，并为精子活力提供足够的能量。目前的研究证实，基因编辑的中国黄牛生长性状得到改善且生育能力正常，可用于肉牛生产和育种。
