Molecular genetics-nutrition interactions in the expression of AANAT, ADRB3, BTG2 and FASN genes in the heart, kidney and liver of Australian lambs supplemented with Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis)

Abstract

Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the messenger RNA (mRNA) transcription levels and expressions of Aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase, Adrenergic beta-3 receptor, B cell translocation gene 2, and Fatty acid synthase genes. In total, 432 heart, kidney and liver samples from 48 purebred and crossbred Australian prime lambs supplemented with Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) blue-green cyanobacterial microalgae over a 9-week feeding trial were utilized for fatty acid composition and mRNA extraction. The aim was to assess the effect of dietary Spirulina supplementation on the mRNA expression profiles of genes controlling fatty acid metabolism in the heart, kidney and liver. Fourty-eight weaned lambs belonging to four breeds under the same management conditions were maintained on ryegrass pasture and randomly allocated to three treatment groups that comprised the control and two levels of Spirulina supplementation: Low (100 mL/head/day of 1 g Spirulina powder dissolved in 10 mL of water (10 % wt:vol)) and High (200 mL/head/day of 2 g of Spirulina dissolved in 10 mL of water (20 % wt:vol)). Both the low and high levels of Spirulina supplementation regimes strongly up-regulated the transcription of all the selected genes and increased x-3 and x-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid compositions in the tested organs. Breed and sex did not influence gene expression patterns; however, significant variations in response to Spirulina supplementation underpin the genetics-nutrition interactions that could be of practical importance for manipulating meat quality in the Australian dual-purpose prime lamb industry for a healthy polyunsaturated fatty acid profile. Abbreviations FAFatty acids AANAT Aralkylamine N-acetyltransferase ADRB3 Adrenergic beta-3 receptor BTG2 B-cell translocation gene 2 FASN Fatty acid synthase

MARGRA Lamb Eating Quality and Human Health-Promoting Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Profiles of Tattykeel Australian White Sheep: Linebreeding and Gender Effects

“…Other previous studies had demonstrated that the nutritional background of pasture-fed ruminants confers a higher muscle α-tocopherol antioxidant status compared to those on concentrate based diets [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 ]. Several internal and external factors influence the quantity and quality of lipids in animal products due to genetics-nutrition interactions in the expression of genes controlling fat metabolism [ 65 ] and these include the key attributes of fat melting point, intramuscular fat and fatty acid composition. The Folin–Ciocalteu total phenolics, ferric reducing antioxidant power and antioxidant enzyme activities of glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase values in the present study were consistent with those reported in the Longissimus thoracis et lumborum muscle [ 26 ], liver and plasma [ 27 ] of lambs grazing ryegrass.…”

Next Generation Sequencing of Single Nucleotide Polymorphic DNA-Markers in Selecting for Intramuscular Fat, Fat Melting Point, Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Meat Eating Quality in Tattykeel Australian White MARGRA Lamb

“…The proteins of the FABP4 family are small molecular-weight proteins that have a high binding affinity for long-chain fatty acids, participate in fatty-acid transportation from the plasma membrane to the sites of β-oxidation, triacylglycerol, and phospholipid synthesis, and variation in FABP4 gene has been reported to affect fat deposition, growth, and meat production in sheep [71,72]. Several other research findings in sheep have demonstrated that dietary manipulation of omega-3 fatty acids can influence intramuscular fat deposition, growth, milk, wool, and meat quality [42,[73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90], while only a handful of studies [52,[91][92][93] have validated independent associations of carcass quality, shear force, intramuscular fat percentage, and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid content with gene markers or the expression of genes encoding enzymes regulating fat metabolism in Australian lamb. Therefore, our current findings at the FABP4 g.62829478A>-SNP locus showing consistently positive correlations between IMF and n-3 LC-PUFA of up to 0.66 with DHA, 0.47 with DPA, and 0.38 with EPA (Figure 9 and Tables 5 and 6) provides a novel molecular marker for TAW sheep producers to select and breed lambs that are not only of high meat-eating quality, but also provide a healthy product for brain growth and development.…”

Enhancing Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content of Dairy-Derived Foods for Human Consumption

“…Moderate heritabilities for the whole group of n-3 PUFA were reported by Boichard et al [151] and Maroteau et al [152], and could be explained by major contribution of the shorter chain n-3 PUFA. First identified in the human genome in 2000 [153], fatty acid desaturase 1 and 2 (FADS1 and FADS2) are considered as the major candidate genes that regulate the endogenous synthesis of n-3 LC-PUFA from ALA in mammals including ruminants [154,155,156,157,158]. The first effort to define the association between these two encoding genes and n-3 PUFA in the milk of Holstein cows [159] found that three significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers within FADS1 and FADS2 were associated with EPA.…”