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Use of microarray for the evaluation of long‐haul shipping stress in beef calves (703.2)
Author(s) -
Onaga Jonathan,
Sy Tracy,
Richards Tim,
Tiirikainen Maarit,
Turano Helen,
Lee C.,
Stokes Ashley
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.703.2
Subject(s) - microarray , zoology , haptoglobin , fold change , andrology , biology , gene expression , gene , immunology , medicine , genetics
Objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of long‐haul shipping on gene expression of leukocytes from weaned calves using a bovine‐specific microarray before and after transport. Two shipments of weaned, Angus and Charolaise, female calves (n=48) were transported to Washington or California. Each shipment, the calves were divided and placed into two separate, bi‐level, four‐compartment, custom cowtainers. Blood was collected prior to shipping (P), upon arrival to the receiving yard (A), and 6‐days post‐arrival (PA). Leukocytes were isolated, total RNA extracted, quantified, and analyzed for quality. An Affymetrix 26,773 WT bovine‐specific array was utilized using manufacturer’s protocols. Using a conservative fold‐change of 2 and a p‐value of less than or equal to 0.05 as significant, only 2 genes were significantly different across the study. FOS was decreased 3.05‐fold P to A, but then increased back 2.92‐fold A to PA. P to A, haptoglobin decreased 2.27‐fold with a p‐value of 0.047. Considering the sensitivity and specificity of the microarray, these changes are very minor physiologically and reflect minimal impact of shipping on these study animals. The findings of this study support our previous work that the currently utilized shipping protocol to transport calves from Hawaii to the Mainland US does not cause large changes in gene expression due to shipping stress. Grant Funding Source : Supported by National Cattlemen's Beef Association