HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Interpretive Summary Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Feng, S. Articles by Garnsworthy, P. C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Feng, S. Articles by Garnsworthy, P. C.

Extraction and Quantitative Analysis of Stearoyl-Coenzyme A Desaturase mRNA from Dairy Cow Milk Somatic Cells

University of Nottingham School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, United Kingdom

¹ Corresponding author: Phil.Garnsworthy{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Study of stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (SCD) gene expression in the bovine mammary gland is limited by restricted availability of mammary tissue samples from biopsy or postmortem sampling of cows during temporal experiments. A technique was developed to isolate total RNA from somatic cells in bovine milk and to analyze SCD mRNA expression by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR. Total RNA yield was lower than in a previous goat study and was related to numbers of viable somatic cells. To obtain sufficient total RNA, 1-L milk samples were taken and stored for up to 24 h at 4°C. Complementary DNA prepared from somatic cells showed a 99% match with the published sequence for SCD mRNA in bovine adipose tissue. Stearoyl-CoA desaturase mRNA abundance relative to ß-actin mRNA for 12 cows sampled across 4 time points varied (mean ± SE) from 0.88 ± 0.17 to 4.40 ± 0.50. Fifty-five percent of variation was due to individual cows and 42% was due to daily variation within cows. Relative abundance of SCD mRNA was not related to the number of viable somatic cells or total RNA extracted from samples, but it was related to mammary desaturase activity, as indicated by changes in milk C₁₄ fatty acid concentrations. We concluded that somatic cells provide a noninvasive and repeatable alternative to mammary tissue samples obtained by biopsy or postmortem.

Key Words: stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase mRNA • milk somatic cell • reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction • dairy cow

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. Boutinaud, M. H. Ben Chedly, E. Delamaire, and J. Guinard-Flament Milking and Feed Restriction Regulate Transcripts of Mammary Epithelial Cells Purified from Milk J Dairy Sci, March 1, 2008; 91(3): 988 - 998. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]