The sheep genome illuminates biology of the rumen and lipid metabolism

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1252806
• Publication Date: 2014-06-05T18:25:59Z
• Authors: Yu Jiang; Min Xie; Wenbin Chen; Richard Talbot; Jillian F. Maddox; Thomas Faraut; Chunhua Wu; Donna M. Muzny; Yuxiang Li; Wenguang Zhang; Jo-Ann Stanton; Rudiger Brauning; Wesley C. Barris; Thibaut Hourlier; Bronwen L. Aken; Stephen M. J. Searle; David L. Adelson; Chao Bian; Graham R. Cam; Yulin Chen; Shifeng Cheng; Udaya DeSilva; Karen Dixen; Yang Dong; Guangyi Fan; Ian R. Franklin; Shaoyin Fu; Pablo Fuentes-Utr...; Rui Guan; Margaret A. Highland; Michael E. Holder; Guodong Huang; Aaron B. Ingham; Shalini N. Jhangiani; Divya Kalra; Christie L. Kovar; Sandra L. Lee; Weiqing Liu; Xin Liu; Changxin Lu; Tian Lv; Tittu Mathew; Sean McWilliam; Moira Menzies; Shengkai Pan; David Robelin; Bertrand Servin; David Townley; Wenliang Wang; Bin Wei; Stephen N. White; Xinhua Yang; Chen Ye; Yaojing Yue; Peng Zeng; Qing Zhou; Jacob B. Hansen; Karsten Kristiansen; Richard A. Gibbs; Paul Flicek; Christopher C. Wa...; Huw E. Jones; V. Hutton Oddy; Frank W. Nicholas; John C. McEwan; James W. Kijas; Jun Wang; Kim C. Worley; Alan L. Archibald; Noelle Cockett; Xun Xu; Wen Wang; Brian P. Dalrymple
• Keywords: Texel

Sheep (Ovis aries) are a major source of meat, milk, and fiber in the form wool represent distinct class animals that have specialized digestive organ, rumen, carries out initial digestion plant material. We developed analyzed high-quality reference sheep genome transcriptomes from 40 different tissues. identified highly expressed genes encoding keratin cross-linking proteins associated with rumen evolution. also involved lipid metabolism had been amplified and/or altered tissue expression patterns. This may be response to changes barrier lipids skin, an interaction between synthesis, increased role volatile fatty acids ruminants compared nonruminant animals.