Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves
As the amygdala is associated with fear and anxiety, it is important to determine the potential effects of gestational stressors on behavior and stress responses in offspring. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal transportation stress on amygdala gene expression in...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Emilie C. Baker David G. Riley Rodolfo C. Cardoso Thomas B. Hairgrove Charles R. Long Ronald D. Randel Thomas H. Welsh |
| author_facet | Emilie C. Baker David G. Riley Rodolfo C. Cardoso Thomas B. Hairgrove Charles R. Long Ronald D. Randel Thomas H. Welsh |
| author_sort | Emilie C. Baker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the amygdala is associated with fear and anxiety, it is important to determine the potential effects of gestational stressors on behavior and stress responses in offspring. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal transportation stress on amygdala gene expression in 25-day-old Brahman calves, focusing on sex-specific differences. Amygdala tissue samples from prenatally stressed (PNS) and control bull and heifer calves were analyzed using RNA sequencing. A thorough outlier detection process, utilizing visual inspection of multidimensional scaling plots, robust principal component analysis, and PCAGrid methods, led to the exclusion of 5 of 32 samples from subsequent analyses. Differential expression analysis revealed no significant treatment differences between the control and PNS groups within either sex. However, sex-specific differences in gene expression were identified in both the control and PNS groups. The control group showed seven differentially expressed genes between sexes, while ten were identified between PNS males and females, with seven located on the X chromosome. Among these was the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 9 X-linked gene, which plays a role in neurodevelopmental pathways. When comparing males to females, regardless of treatment, a total of 58 genes were differentially expressed, with 45 showing increased expression in females. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that many differentially expressed genes are associated with infectious disease-related pathways. Future research should explore amygdala size and functional responses to various postnatal stimuli. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-678c3ea087e1477f86bc01adafa23d94 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-678c3ea087e1477f86bc01adafa23d942025-08-20T02:28:11ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372024-11-01131191510.3390/biology13110915Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman CalvesEmilie C. Baker0David G. Riley1Rodolfo C. Cardoso2Thomas B. Hairgrove3Charles R. Long4Ronald D. Randel5Thomas H. Welsh6Department of Agricultural Sciences, West Texas A&M University, Canyon, TX 79016, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USADepartment of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USAAs the amygdala is associated with fear and anxiety, it is important to determine the potential effects of gestational stressors on behavior and stress responses in offspring. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of prenatal transportation stress on amygdala gene expression in 25-day-old Brahman calves, focusing on sex-specific differences. Amygdala tissue samples from prenatally stressed (PNS) and control bull and heifer calves were analyzed using RNA sequencing. A thorough outlier detection process, utilizing visual inspection of multidimensional scaling plots, robust principal component analysis, and PCAGrid methods, led to the exclusion of 5 of 32 samples from subsequent analyses. Differential expression analysis revealed no significant treatment differences between the control and PNS groups within either sex. However, sex-specific differences in gene expression were identified in both the control and PNS groups. The control group showed seven differentially expressed genes between sexes, while ten were identified between PNS males and females, with seven located on the X chromosome. Among these was the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 9 X-linked gene, which plays a role in neurodevelopmental pathways. When comparing males to females, regardless of treatment, a total of 58 genes were differentially expressed, with 45 showing increased expression in females. Gene enrichment analysis indicated that many differentially expressed genes are associated with infectious disease-related pathways. Future research should explore amygdala size and functional responses to various postnatal stimuli.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/11/915amygdalabovinegene expressionoutliersprenatal stress |
| spellingShingle | Emilie C. Baker David G. Riley Rodolfo C. Cardoso Thomas B. Hairgrove Charles R. Long Ronald D. Randel Thomas H. Welsh Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves Biology amygdala bovine gene expression outliers prenatal stress |
| title | Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves |
| title_full | Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves |
| title_short | Assessment of Prenatal Transportation Stress and Sex on Gene Expression Within the Amygdala of Brahman Calves |
| title_sort | assessment of prenatal transportation stress and sex on gene expression within the amygdala of brahman calves |
| topic | amygdala bovine gene expression outliers prenatal stress |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/13/11/915 |
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