Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (8): 2181-2189.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2021.08.011

• ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING • Previous Articles     Next Articles

DNA Methylation Regulate the Genomic Imprinting of AQP1 Gene Specific in Bovine Placenta

LIU Xiaoqian1, JIN Lanjie1, DONG Yanqiu1, LI Dongjie2, ZHANG Cui1, GU Shukai1, LI Shijie1*   

  1. 1. College of Life Sciences, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding 071000, China;
    2. College of Bioscience and Bioengineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, China
  • Received:2021-01-08 Online:2021-08-23 Published:2021-08-21

Abstract: The study aimed to explore the imprinting status of AQP1 gene in various tissues and placenta of bovine and to determine the role of DNA methylation in regulating imprinted expression of AQP1 gene. The direct sequencing of RT-PCR products was used based on SNP, 5 heterozygous cows and 3 heterozygous placentas were identified from the heart tissues of 32 healthy female adult Holstein cows and 15 placentas after natural delivery, respectively. The allele expression and imprinting status of AQP1 gene in 7 tissues(heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, muscle and fat) and placentas of heterozygous cattle were analyzed. The DNA methylation status of the CpG island located the promoter and exon 1 of AQP1 gene was analyzed in heart, liver, two placentas and corresponding sperms by bisulfite sequencing. The results showed that AQP1 gene was in biallelic expression in 7 tissues tested of heterozygous cows. In the placenta, AQP1 gene was in maternal monoallelic expression by analyzing the parental genotype of heterozygous placenta. Furthermore, analysis of the DNA methylation status of CpG island in AQP1 gene promoter in tissues, placenta and corresponding sperms of bovine showed that there were no differentially methylated regions (DMR) in the biallele expressed heart and liver tissues, but in placenta with monoallelic expression, there were DMR, while in sperm with paternal allele expression, there was hyper-methylation. These results suggest that AQP1 gene is a paternal imprinting gene, and DNA methylation modification of the AQP1 CpG island is involved in the regulation of imprinting expression in bovine placenta.The expression of AQP1 gene is biallelic in the tested tissues.

Key words: cattle, aquaporin 1 (AQP1), imprinting status, DNA methylation

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