Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep

Abstract Economic gain for sheep farmers is continually affected by incidences of copper intoxication and deficiency. This study assessed the ovine genome for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) influencing within-breed variation in hepatic copper content in Polish Merino sheep. To this end, we co...

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Main Authors: Olusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi, Ewa Grochowska, Zexi Cai, Gesine Lühken
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-06-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04330-8
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author Olusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi
Ewa Grochowska
Zexi Cai
Gesine Lühken
author_facet Olusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi
Ewa Grochowska
Zexi Cai
Gesine Lühken
author_sort Olusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Economic gain for sheep farmers is continually affected by incidences of copper intoxication and deficiency. This study assessed the ovine genome for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) influencing within-breed variation in hepatic copper content in Polish Merino sheep. To this end, we compared whole genome RNA sequence expression data from 12 female Polish Merino sheep liver samples (dataset 1) selected and grouped equally into high liver copper (HLC) and low liver copper (LLC) groups. Likewise, dataset 2 (a subset of dataset 1) containing 6 samples (HLC = 3; LLC = 3) was analyzed. The DEG analysis of HLC vs LLC groups for both data sets revealed a lower number of significant DEGs for dataset 1 (n = 64) when compared to dataset 2 (n = 252), respectively. Of the significant DEGs, 53 were jointly identified with both datasets. Identified DEGs downregulated in the HLC group including MVD, DHCR7, LOC101113583 and ERG28 are implicated in cholesterol synthesis, whereas AKR1B10 and CYP26A1 are associated with retinoic acid synthesis. The cholesterol biosynthetic process (GO:0006695) and the retinol metabolism (oas00830) were also observed by analysis of enriched gene ontologies, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways, respectively. Our findings provide new information on candidate genes associated with within-breed differences in hepatic copper concentration.
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spelling doaj-art-a6348caef64b4f95bd2a4dd1fea3d5252025-08-20T03:25:19ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-06-0115111210.1038/s41598-025-04330-8Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheepOlusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi0Ewa Grochowska1Zexi Cai2Gesine Lühken3Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Justus Liebig UniversityDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus UniversityCenter for Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Aarhus UniversityInstitute of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Justus Liebig UniversityAbstract Economic gain for sheep farmers is continually affected by incidences of copper intoxication and deficiency. This study assessed the ovine genome for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) influencing within-breed variation in hepatic copper content in Polish Merino sheep. To this end, we compared whole genome RNA sequence expression data from 12 female Polish Merino sheep liver samples (dataset 1) selected and grouped equally into high liver copper (HLC) and low liver copper (LLC) groups. Likewise, dataset 2 (a subset of dataset 1) containing 6 samples (HLC = 3; LLC = 3) was analyzed. The DEG analysis of HLC vs LLC groups for both data sets revealed a lower number of significant DEGs for dataset 1 (n = 64) when compared to dataset 2 (n = 252), respectively. Of the significant DEGs, 53 were jointly identified with both datasets. Identified DEGs downregulated in the HLC group including MVD, DHCR7, LOC101113583 and ERG28 are implicated in cholesterol synthesis, whereas AKR1B10 and CYP26A1 are associated with retinoic acid synthesis. The cholesterol biosynthetic process (GO:0006695) and the retinol metabolism (oas00830) were also observed by analysis of enriched gene ontologies, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways, respectively. Our findings provide new information on candidate genes associated with within-breed differences in hepatic copper concentration.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04330-8Transcriptome analysisGenesLiverCopper concentrationSheep
spellingShingle Olusegun Olaniyi Adeniyi
Ewa Grochowska
Zexi Cai
Gesine Lühken
Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
Scientific Reports
Transcriptome analysis
Genes
Liver
Copper concentration
Sheep
title Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
title_full Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
title_fullStr Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
title_full_unstemmed Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
title_short Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in Polish Merino sheep
title_sort comparative transcriptome analysis reveals genes associated with variation in liver copper concentration in polish merino sheep
topic Transcriptome analysis
Genes
Liver
Copper concentration
Sheep
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-04330-8
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AT ewagrochowska comparativetranscriptomeanalysisrevealsgenesassociatedwithvariationinlivercopperconcentrationinpolishmerinosheep
AT zexicai comparativetranscriptomeanalysisrevealsgenesassociatedwithvariationinlivercopperconcentrationinpolishmerinosheep
AT gesineluhken comparativetranscriptomeanalysisrevealsgenesassociatedwithvariationinlivercopperconcentrationinpolishmerinosheep