Genome‐wide differential DNA methylation in tropically adapted Creole cattle and their Iberian ancestors

Abstract

Enhancing climate resilience and sustainable production for animals in harsh environments are important goals for the livestock industry given the predicted impacts of climate change. Rapid adaptation to extreme climatic conditions has already been imposed on livestock species, including those exported after Columbus's arrival in the Americas. We compared the methylomes of two Creole cattle breeds living in tropical environments with their putative Spanish ancestors to understand the epigenetic mechanisms underlying rapid adaptation of a domestic species to a new and more physiologically challenging environment. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing was used to assess differences in methylation in Creole and Spanish samples and revealed 334 differentially methylated regions using high stringency parameters (P-value <0.01, ≥4 CpGs within a distance of 200 bp, mean methylation difference >25%) annotated to 263 unique features. Gene ontology analysis revealed candidate genes involved in tropical adaptation processes, including genes differentially hyper-or hypomethylated above 80% in Creole samples displaying biological functions related to immune response (IRF6, PTGDR, FAM19A5, PGLYRP1), nervous system (GBX2, NKX2-8, RPGR), energy management (BTD), heat resistance (CYB561) and skin and coat attributes (LGR6). Our results entail that major environmental changes imposed on Creole cattle have had an impact on their methylomes measurable today, which affects genes implicated in important pathways for adaptation. Although further work is needed, this first characterization of methylation patterns driven by profound environmental change provides a valuable pointer for the identification of biomarkers of resilience for improved cattle performance and welfare under predicted climatic change models.

DNA Methylation Profiles in a Group of Workers Occupationally Exposed to Nanoparticles

“…In relation to the other genes reported in Table 2, although limited information is available, some may be very interesting for our hypothesis on NP exposure effects. Firstly, changes in DNA methylation in LGR6 gene were connected with the adaptation process to new tropical environmental conditions in Creole cattle [37]. This can be seen as a parallel with our finding related to adaptation to the environment after long-term exposure to NP.…”

Putative Epigenetic Biomarkers of Stress in Red Blood Cells of Chickens Reared Across Different Biomes

“…Epigenetic research has permeated several fields of biological research, from molecular to evolutionary biology ( Richard and Stein, 2012 ). However, despite the importance of epigenetic mechanisms in biology in general, epigenetic studies in production animals are incipient, with some studies performed in chickens ( Pértille et al, 2017a , 2019 ; Bélteky et al, 2018 ; Guerrero-Bosagna et al, 2020 ), in cattle ( Su et al, 2014 ; Fang et al, 2017 ; Zhou et al, 2018 ; Sevane et al, 2019 ), in sheep ( Cao et al, 2017 ; Capra et al, 2017 ; Zhang X. et al, 2017 ; Zhang Y. et al, 2017 ), and pigs ( Gao et al, 2014 ; Choi et al, 2015 ; Yuan et al, 2017 ; Wang and Kadarmideen, 2019 , 2020 ). Among production animals, chickens have recently emerged as a promising model for epigenetic studies ( Frésard et al, 2013 ) following their historical use as a model for translational research with implications for human health and physiology ( Kain et al, 2014 ).…”

Research Article Selection of genomic regions and genes associated with adaptation and fertility traits in two Colombian creole cattle breeds

“…There are no reports about function of CLEC14A gene in cattle, possibly involved in productive mechanisms. Sevane et al (2018) in their study about the role of epigenetic regulation on the adaptive processes in Colombian Creole cattle breeds and their Iberian ancestors comparing the methylomas between these breeds, reported 12 genes in a hypermethylated region on BTA21 of Costeño con cuernos and Sanmartinero breeds, related to cellular membrane components. Many of these hypermethylated genes are involved in immune processes against infections and parasites in adaptive mechanisms.…”