Evolutionary Analysis of OAT Gene Family in River and Swamp Buffalo: Potential Role of SLCO3A1 Gene in Milk Performance

Abstract

The organic anion transporter (OAT) family is the subfamily of the solute carrier (SLC) superfamily, which plays a vital role in regulating essential nutrients in milk. However, little is known about the members’ identification, evolutionary basis, and function characteristics of OAT genes associated with milk performance in buffalo. Comparative genomic analyses were performed to identify the potential role of buffalo OAT genes in milk performance in this study. The results showed that a total of 10 and 7 OAT genes were identified in river buffalo and swamp buffalo, respectively. These sequences clustered into three groups based on their phylogenetic relationship and had similar motif patterns and gene structures in the same groups. Moreover, the river-specific expansions and homologous loss of OAT genes occurred in the two buffalo subspecies during the evolutionary process. Notably, the duplicated SLCO3A1 gene specific to river buffalo showed higher expression level in mammary gland tissue than that of swamp buffalo. These findings highlight some promising candidate genes that could be potentially utilized to accelerate the genetic progress in buffalo breeding programs. However, the identified candidate genes require further validation in a larger cohort for use in the genomic selection of buffalo for milk production.

Review: Research Progress of Dairy Sheep Milk Genes

“…The solute carrier family is made up of different transporter families that include ion channels and exchangers, its passive transporters SLC2A2 is located on chromosomes 1 and belongs to the passive transporters, which are related to the biological process of carbohydrate metabolic process and insulin secretion regulation [42]. Many researchers have found this gene is related to milk synthesis and milk lactation [43][44][45]. In H. Marina's research [46], GWAS and post -GWAS were done in two dairy sheep breeds of 2020 ewes, and different analysis was performed to detect candidate genes associated with milk production and composition traits, as well as cheese making traits.…”

Genetic Bases and Molecular Breeding of Key Economic Traits in China Dairy Cattle: A Progress Report

“…Functional and correlation analyses have identified FATP1 [43], LXRα [44], PPARγ [45], ELOVL6 [46], HSD17B4 [47], BTN1A1, XDH, PLIN1, PLIN2 [48,49], ABCD1 [50] and INSIG2 [51] as having regulatory roles in milk fat synthesis and lactation. In particular, DGAT1 [52,53], FASN [54] and PPARGC1A [55] influenced milk production, as did Casein [56] and OAT [57]. Omics-based studies have also been used to investigate milk production.…”

Effect of Buffalo Breed on the Detailed Milk Composition in Guangxi, China

“…Furthermore, changes appear in milk composition between breeds and individuals within a breed, which is partly due to genetic differences [ 9 ]. The water buffalo consists of two subspecies, namely, the swamp buffalo and the river buffalo [ 10 , 11 ]. River buffalo are mostly reared for their milk.…”