Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 8, 2025
Transcriptome Profiling of In-Vivo Produced Bovine Pre-implantation Embryos Using Two-color Microarray Platform
Published on: January 30, 2017
A multi-tissue single-cell expression atlas in cattle
Bo Han1, Houcheng Li2, Weijie Zheng1
1State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
This study maps over 1.7 million cells from 59 bovine tissues, creating a Cattle Cell Atlas. This resource reveals cellular diversity and links gene expression to traits like sperm motility and milk fat yield.
Area of Science:
- Livestock Genomics
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Comparative Genomics
Background:
- Understanding cellular and genetic mechanisms in livestock is crucial for traits relevant to agriculture and ecology.
- The Farm Animal Genotype-Tissue Expression (FarmGTEx) project aims to create comprehensive reference maps of livestock tissues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically characterize the molecular states of cells across diverse bovine tissues.
- To build a comprehensive reference map of bovine cellular heterogeneity and gene expression.
- To integrate this map with genetic variants to identify cell types associated with economically important traits.
Main Methods:
- Single-cell RNA sequencing of 1,793,854 cells from 59 bovine tissues.
- Analysis of gene expression, transcription factor regulation, and intercellular communication.
- Integrative analysis of genetic variants linked to bovine traits.
Main Results:
- A detailed reference map of cellular heterogeneity across bovine tissues.
- Identification of cell types, such as spermatocytes and excitatory neurons, linked to specific traits (sperm motility, milk fat yield).
- Demonstration of conserved gene expression patterns between cattle and humans.
Conclusions:
- The Cattle Cell Atlas is a valuable resource for cattle genetics, genomics, and selective breeding.
- This atlas facilitates the study of both bovine and human complex phenotypes through comparative analysis.
- The findings advance our understanding of cellular mechanisms underlying livestock productivity and adaptation.
