Transcriptome analysis revealed that delaying first colostrum feeding postponed ileum immune system development of
Yang Song1, Huizeng Sun2, Zhixiong He3
1College of Animal Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Minzu University, Tongliao 028000, China; Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2P5, Canada; Brucellosis Prevention and Treatment Engineering Research Center of Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, Tongliao, China, 028000.
Abstract:
Our objective was to evaluate the effect of colostrum feeding times on genome-wide gene expression of neonatal calves. In total, twenty-seven calves were assigned to three colostrum feeding treatments: within 45 min (TRT0h, n = 9), 6 h (TRT6h, n = 9) and 12 h (TRT12h, n = 9). Ileum tissues were collected at 51 h and transcriptomic analysis was conducted. Uniquely expressed genes were identified in TRT0h group with enriched "Antigen Presentation" function. Meanwhile, the weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified four significant gene modules (|correlation| > 0.50 and P ≤ 0.05). In particular, Turquoise gene module with the enriched "Cadherin binding involved in cell-cell adhesion" and "Cell-cell adherences junction" GO terms were significantly correlated with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (R = -0.70, P < 0.01) and Bifidobacterium (R = -0.55, P < 0.01). Our findings suggest feeding colostrum without delay could stimulate the expression of genes involved in immune function development related to host response and microbial colonization in neonatal claves.
