Shi Lijun, Guo Zijiao, Shen Nan, Li Cong, Han Bo, Sun Dongxiao
Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
FASEB J. 2025 Jul 15;39(13):e70789. doi: 10.1096/fj.202501411R.
Milk fat, an essential component of bovine milk, significantly impacts human health and dairy industry profitability. Our previous research identified that the NFKB2 gene was a key candidate for milk fatty acids (FAs) in dairy cattle. This study aimed to investigate the role of NFKB2 in regulating milk FAs in Holstein cattle through post-GWAS analysis. Knockdown of NFKB2 using siRNA in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) significantly reduced triglyceride concentrations, lipid droplet secretion, and the expressions of 17 key genes involved in lipid metabolism pathways, including PI3K-AKT, NF-κB, MAPK, adipocytokine, PPAR, and AMPK signaling pathways. These findings highlighted NFKB2 as a critical regulator of milk FA composition through its interactions with key lipid biosynthesis pathways. Further, this study constructed a new Chinese Holstein population including 1065 cows and performed genotyping and milk FAs measurements in these individuals. By SNP identification and association analysis, SNP g.22889812C/T in the 5' flanking region of NFKB2 was significantly associated with multiple milk FAs, including higher C14:1, C17:0, C18:0, and C14 index levels in allele C group, and higher C6:0, C8:0, C14:0, C16:1, and C16 index levels in allele T group. Using computational predictions, luciferase assays, EMSA and super-shift EMSA, we revealed that SNP g.22889812C/T downregulated NFKB2 transcription activity with allele T selectively binding with transcription factor (TF) ZNF282. This study not only advanced the understanding of genetic mechanisms underlying milk fat production but also identified NFKB2 and its causal mutation g.22889812C/T as promising molecular markers for selective breeding to optimize milk fat traits.
乳脂肪是牛乳的重要组成部分,对人类健康和乳制品行业的盈利能力有显著影响。我们之前的研究发现,NFKB2基因是奶牛乳脂肪酸(FAs)的关键候选基因。本研究旨在通过全基因组关联研究(GWAS)后分析,探讨NFKB2在调控荷斯坦奶牛乳脂肪酸中的作用。在牛乳腺上皮细胞(BMECs)中使用小干扰RNA(siRNA)敲低NFKB2,显著降低了甘油三酯浓度、脂滴分泌以及参与脂质代谢途径的17个关键基因的表达,这些途径包括PI3K-AKT、NF-κB、MAPK、脂肪细胞因子、PPAR和AMPK信号通路。这些发现突出了NFKB2通过与关键脂质生物合成途径相互作用,作为乳脂肪酸组成的关键调节因子。此外,本研究构建了一个包含1065头奶牛的中国荷斯坦新群体,并对这些个体进行了基因分型和乳脂肪酸测量。通过单核苷酸多态性(SNP)鉴定和关联分析,发现NFKB2基因5'侧翼区域的SNP g.22889812C/T与多种乳脂肪酸显著相关,在等位基因C组中,C14:1、C17:0、C18:0和C14指数水平较高,而在等位基因T组中,C6:0、C8:0、C14:0、C16:1和C16指数水平较高。通过计算预测、荧光素酶测定、电泳迁移率变动分析(EMSA)和超迁移EMSA,我们发现SNP g.22889812C/T下调了NFKB2的转录活性,等位基因T与转录因子(TF)ZNF282选择性结合。本研究不仅增进了对乳脂肪产生遗传机制的理解,还确定了NFKB2及其因果突变g.22889812C/T作为优化乳脂肪性状选择性育种的有前景的分子标记。