Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India.
Department of Animal Nutrition, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India.
Zygote. 2024 Jun;32(3):190-206. doi: 10.1017/S0967199424000224. Epub 2024 Sep 18.
Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNA molecules, play a critical role in gene expression and regulation in livestock species, influencing development, reproduction and disease resistance. DNA methylation patterns silence gene expression by blocking transcription factor binding, while histone modifications alter chromatin structure and affect DNA accessibility. Livestock-specific histone modifications contribute to gene expression and genome stability. Non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs, piRNAs, siRNAs, snoRNAs, lncRNAs and circRNAs, regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance occurs in livestock, with environmental factors impacting epigenetic modifications and phenotypic traits across generations. Epigenetic regulation revealed significant effect on gene expression profiling that can be exploited for various targeted traits like muscle hypertrophy, puberty onset, growth, metabolism, disease resistance and milk production in livestock and poultry breeds. Epigenetic regulation of imprinted genes affects cattle growth and metabolism while epigenetic modifications play a role in disease resistance and mastitis in dairy cattle, as well as milk protein gene regulation during lactation. Nutri-epigenomics research also reveals the influence of maternal nutrition on offspring's epigenetic regulation of metabolic homeostasis in cattle, sheep, goat and poultry. Integrating cyto-genomics approaches enhances understanding of epigenetic mechanisms in livestock breeding, providing insights into chromosomal structure, rearrangements and their impact on gene regulation and phenotypic traits. This review presents potential research areas to enhance production potential and deepen our understanding of epigenetic changes in livestock, offering opportunities for genetic improvement, reproductive management, disease control and milk production in diverse livestock species.
表观遗传机制，如 DNA 甲基化、组蛋白修饰和非编码 RNA 分子，在畜牧物种的基因表达和调控中起着关键作用，影响着发育、繁殖和疾病抵抗力。DNA 甲基化模式通过阻止转录因子结合来沉默基因表达，而组蛋白修饰改变染色质结构并影响 DNA 可及性。特定于畜牧的组蛋白修饰有助于基因表达和基因组稳定性。非编码 RNA，包括 miRNAs、piRNAs、siRNAs、snoRNAs、lncRNAs 和 circRNAs，在后转录水平上调节基因表达。畜牧中存在跨代表观遗传遗传，环境因素影响跨代的表观遗传修饰和表型特征。表观遗传调控对基因表达谱具有显著影响，可以用于各种靶向性状，如肌肉肥大、青春期开始、生长、代谢、疾病抵抗力和奶产量在畜牧和家禽品种中。印迹基因的表观遗传调控影响牛的生长和代谢，而表观遗传修饰在奶牛的疾病抵抗力和乳腺炎以及泌乳期间乳蛋白基因调控中发挥作用。营养表观基因组学研究还揭示了母体营养对牛、绵羊、山羊和家禽后代代谢稳态的表观遗传调控的影响。整合细胞基因组学方法增强了对畜牧育种中表观遗传机制的理解，提供了对染色体结构、重排及其对基因调控和表型特征的影响的深入了解。本综述提出了潜在的研究领域，以提高生产潜力并深化我们对畜牧中表观遗传变化的理解，为遗传改良、繁殖管理、疾病控制和不同畜牧物种的产奶提供了机会。
