July 11, 2013 — The Y chromosomes of cattle have more genes and are more active than the Y chromosomes of other primates, according to researchers.
This discovery may help biologists better understand how cattle and other mammals evolved, as well as help animal breeders and farmers better maintain and enhance fertility in the cattle industry, said Wansheng Liu, associate professor of animal genomics, Penn State.
"Low fertility is a big problem for the dairy and beef industry," Liu said. "In the past 60 years, we paid more attention to milk, or beef production as a sign of herd success, but, even as milk production goes up, the animal's fertility goes down, which means it's time to pay more attention to male fertility now."
The researchers identified 1,274 genes in the male specific region of the bovine Y chromosome, compared to the 31 to 78 genes associated in the Y chromosomes of various primates. They also said the genes in the bovine Y chromosome were much more transcriptionally active compared to other mammals. Transcription is the first step of gene expression when DNA is copied. In this process, the cell produces messenger RNA that copies the genetic information from the cell nucleus to serve as a template for protein synthesis.
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