DNA Methylation in the 5'AMPK Gene Family of Cattle and Bison
Conference Year
January 2019
Abstract
The 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene family comprises an evolutionary conserved serine/threonine heterotrimeric protein kinase. The primary function of this kinase is the regulation of cellular energy and metabolism. The regulation of these genes has been linked to the epigenetic regulation of which methylation of CpG sites has been extensively studied. The location of 5-methylcytosine relative to genic regions can either facilitate or prevent transcriptional machinery from binding to its target site. Earlier we have shown that methylation sites are conserved in Angus and Charolais breeds of cattle in AMPK genes using Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis (COBRA). Here, we investigated the methylation levels and patterns of bovine AMPK genes; PRKAA1 and PRKAB1 at 36 different CpG methylation sites by pyrosequencing across three different breeds of cattle and Bison. We observed conservation of DNA methylation levels and patterns in bovine AMPK genes; PRKAA1 and PRKAB1 in multiple breeds of cattle as well as Bison. We also observed a consistently higher level of methylation in these regions. Further, bioinformatics analysis showed that the targeted region of PRKAA1 gene contained a putative internal promoter while PRKAB1 gene represented αγ subunit binding sequence. Altogether, our study unravels a situation in which both genetics and epigenetics come together to preserve the function of a protein, vital to life processes.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Stephanie McKay
Status
Graduate
Student College
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Program/Major
Animal, Nutrition and Food Sciences
Primary Research Category
Biological Sciences
DNA Methylation in the 5'AMPK Gene Family of Cattle and Bison
The 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) gene family comprises an evolutionary conserved serine/threonine heterotrimeric protein kinase. The primary function of this kinase is the regulation of cellular energy and metabolism. The regulation of these genes has been linked to the epigenetic regulation of which methylation of CpG sites has been extensively studied. The location of 5-methylcytosine relative to genic regions can either facilitate or prevent transcriptional machinery from binding to its target site. Earlier we have shown that methylation sites are conserved in Angus and Charolais breeds of cattle in AMPK genes using Combined Bisulfite Restriction Analysis (COBRA). Here, we investigated the methylation levels and patterns of bovine AMPK genes; PRKAA1 and PRKAB1 at 36 different CpG methylation sites by pyrosequencing across three different breeds of cattle and Bison. We observed conservation of DNA methylation levels and patterns in bovine AMPK genes; PRKAA1 and PRKAB1 in multiple breeds of cattle as well as Bison. We also observed a consistently higher level of methylation in these regions. Further, bioinformatics analysis showed that the targeted region of PRKAA1 gene contained a putative internal promoter while PRKAB1 gene represented αγ subunit binding sequence. Altogether, our study unravels a situation in which both genetics and epigenetics come together to preserve the function of a protein, vital to life processes.