Journal of Integrative Agriculture ›› 2012, Vol. 12 ›› Issue (10): 1691-1699.DOI: 10.1016/S1671-2927(00)8702

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The mRNA Expression and Methylation Status in Imprinting Control Region of H19 Gene Between Cattle-Yak and Their Parents

 LI Ming-gui**, LIU Zhen-shan**, PAN Zeng-xiang, LUO Hua, XIE Zhuang,LI Qi-fa   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China
  • 收稿日期:2011-04-07 出版日期:2012-10-01 发布日期:2012-11-12
  • 通讯作者: Correspondence LI Qi-fa, Tel: +86-25-84395046, Fax: +86-25-84395314, E-mail: liqifa@njau.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:

    This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30500360) and the Open Topic of State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology (2009SKLAB07-2).

The mRNA Expression and Methylation Status in Imprinting Control Region of H19 Gene Between Cattle-Yak and Their Parents

 LI Ming-gui*, LIU Zhen-shan*, PAN Zeng-xiang, LUO Hua, XIE Zhuang,LI Qi-fa   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, P.R.China
  • Received:2011-04-07 Online:2012-10-01 Published:2012-11-12
  • Contact: Correspondence LI Qi-fa, Tel: +86-25-84395046, Fax: +86-25-84395314, E-mail: liqifa@njau.edu.cn
  • Supported by:

    This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30500360) and the Open Topic of State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Biotechnology (2009SKLAB07-2).

摘要: The H19 gene, which is imprinted with preferential expression from the maternal allele, was one of the first identified imprinting genes in mammals. Recent studies revealed that correct imprinting of the H19 gene plays a vital role in human spermatogenesis. To investigate whether imprinting defects were associated with the hybrid sterility of male cattle-yak, the methylation patterns of the H19 imprinting control region (ICR) and H19 mRNA expression in the testes of cattle-yak, yak, and cattle were examined. The results showed that the 3rd CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) site of the H19 ICR was significantly hypomethylated in the testes of cattle-yak compared with yak or cattle. As expected, H19 was expressed at a significantly higher level in cattle-yak than in yak or cattle. These results suggest that imprinting defects of the CTCFbinding site in the H19 ICR were possibly associated with disturbed spermatogenesis of male cattle-yak. Thus, we propose that disorders in H19 imprinting, resulting in an increased H19 mRNA expression, might contribute to the sterility of F1 male hybrids between cattle and yak.

关键词: cattle-yak , male sterility , H19 ICR , CTCF-binding site , mRNA expression , DNA methylation

Abstract: The H19 gene, which is imprinted with preferential expression from the maternal allele, was one of the first identified imprinting genes in mammals. Recent studies revealed that correct imprinting of the H19 gene plays a vital role in human spermatogenesis. To investigate whether imprinting defects were associated with the hybrid sterility of male cattle-yak, the methylation patterns of the H19 imprinting control region (ICR) and H19 mRNA expression in the testes of cattle-yak, yak, and cattle were examined. The results showed that the 3rd CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) site of the H19 ICR was significantly hypomethylated in the testes of cattle-yak compared with yak or cattle. As expected, H19 was expressed at a significantly higher level in cattle-yak than in yak or cattle. These results suggest that imprinting defects of the CTCFbinding site in the H19 ICR were possibly associated with disturbed spermatogenesis of male cattle-yak. Thus, we propose that disorders in H19 imprinting, resulting in an increased H19 mRNA expression, might contribute to the sterility of F1 male hybrids between cattle and yak.

Key words: cattle-yak , male sterility , H19 ICR , CTCF-binding site , mRNA expression , DNA methylation