Thermoregulation in goats through AGRP gene and analysis of physiological adaptation

An association between genetic variation in Agouti Related Peptide (AGRP) gene and adaptability was investigated in Ganjam, Narayanpatana, Maraguda and Keonjhar goat populations of Odisha. The comparative quantitative expression of AGRP gene revealed higher expression in Maraguda and Keonjhar goats as compared to Ganjam and Narayanpatana goats. The bioinformatics analysis revealed the intricate mechanism of action for AGRP protein in the cellular pathway for thermal stress. The three-dimensional structure of AGRP protein was predicted and its stability was ascertained by constructing Ramchandran plot, aromatic receptor surface, hydrogen bond interaction and hydrophobicity plot. Momentous intracellular interaction of AGRP protein with leptin and ghrelin receptors was established through in silico analysis. The relationship between genetic variation with physiological, biochemical and haematological parameters was estimated by calculating the adaptability index (AI) through multivariate analysis. The relative importance of each variable in the adaptive responses of the four goat populations was assessed by path analysis. The difference in AI between the goat populations was slightly over 8%. This preliminary AI provides a potential decision-maker method to scale the resilience level of goats. The path analysis avowed that THI significantly modified the skin temperature and respiration rate which in turn will decrease the rectal temperature showing better adaptability. A comprehensive genetic and phenotypic analysis for thermal resilience in goats was established in this study.