Transcriptome signature of circulating PBMCs to understand mechanism of high altitude adaptation in native cattle adapted to Trans Himalayan region of Ladakh

Preeti verma; Ankita Sharma; Monika Sodhi; Kiran Thakur; Vijay Bharti; Arup Giri; Sahil Kalia; Manishi Mukesh

doi:10.21767/2471-8084-C1-024

Transcriptome signature of circulating PBMCs to understand mechanism of high altitude adaptation in native cattle adapted to Trans Himalayan region of Ladakh

International Conference on Biotechnology, Biomarkers & Systems Biology

March 04-05, 2019 | Amsterdam, Netherlands

Preeti verma, Ankita Sharma, Monika Sodhi, Kiran Thakur, Vijay Bharti, Arup Giri, Sahil Kalia and Manishi Mukesh

ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, India Defense Institute of high Altitude Research, India

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Biochem Mol biol J

Abstract:

Ladakh "land of high passes" is located between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south in state of Jammu and Kashmir. This cold-arid desert located at over 3000 m above mean sea level is characterized by a very harsh climate with extreme temperature (-40 oC in winter and 35 oC in summer): low humidity, precipitation, and reduced oxygen level (nearly 60-70% of the oxygen concentration at sea level). The local cattle from Ladakh region are known as “Ladakhi cattle”, a unique germplasm having excellent adaptation potential to high altitude hypobaric stress. In the present study, an effort was made to evaluate the transcriptional signature of circulating PBMCs in local Ladakhi cattle from Ladakh region and Sahiwal cattle from tropical condition using Agilent 44K microarray chip. The top up-regulated genes in Ladakhi cows were INHBC, ITPRI, HECA, ABI3, GPR171, and HIF-1α involved in hypoxia and stress response. In Sahiwal cows, the top up-regulated genes eEF1A1, GRO1, CXCL2, DEFB3 and BOLA-DQA3 were associated with immune function and inflammatory response indicating their strong immune potential to combat the pathogens prevalent in the tropical conditions. The molecular pathways highly impacted were MAPK signalling, ETC, apoptosis, TLR signalling and NF- kB signalling pathway indicating signatures of adaptive evolution of these two cattle types in response to diverse environments. Further, qPCR analysis revealed increased expression of some high altitude related genes viz., HIF-1, EPAS-1, VEGFA, NOS2, ECE-1 and GLUT-1 in PBMCs of high altitude cattle signifying their importance as an essential component of high altitude adaptation. These genes are supposed to be crucial in maintaining cellular homeostasis in Ladakhi cattle. Based on data generated in the present study, native cattle of Ladakh region was found to be genetically distinct from native cattle adapted to tropical region of India.