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Cathelicidins are a major family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), an important component of innate immune system, playing a critical role in host defense and disease resistance in virtually all living species. Polymorphism and functional studies on cathelicidin of Tianzhu white yak contribute to understanding the specific innate immune mechanism in animals living at high altitudes in comparison to cattle and domesticated white yak. Thirty-six individuals of Tianzhu white yak, originating from the area of three ecotypes (Gansu in China), were investigated. The total length of the aligned Yak cathelicidin 6 (CATHL-6) sequences was 1923 bp, including six single nucleotide polymorphisms and one indel. Ten haplotypes were identified, and phylogenetic analyses resolved those 10 haplotypes in two clusters. The results indicate that the white yak originated from two domestication sites. In addition, lack of significant pairwise difference between sequences (Tajima's D = 0.92865, P > 0.10) in the CATHL-6 region indicates absence of population size expansion in current white yak population.

Desmoglein 4 (DSG4) has an important role in the development of wool traits in domestic animals. The full-length DSG4 gene, which contains 3918 bp, a complete open-reading-frame, and encodes a 1040-amino acid protein, was amplified from Liaoning cashmere goat. The sequence was compared with that of DSG4 from other animals and the results show that the DSG4 coding region is consistent with interspecies conservation. Thirteen single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in a highly variable region of DSG4, and one SNP (M-1, G>T) was significantly correlated with white and black coat color in goat. Haplotype distribution of the highly variable region of DSG4 was assessed in 179 individuals from seven goat breeds to investigate its association with coat color and its differentiation among populations. However, the lack of a signature result indicates DGS4 haplotypes related with the color of goat coat.

The aim of this research was to identify the dynamic diversity of Small Tail Han sheep in its main producing areas between different years, and provide a basis for a breeding and genetic resources conservation strategy. For this purpose, 15 microsatellites were genotyped for Small Tail Han Sheep sampled in 2014 from Heze, China, and a comparative analysis of these data with those from a previous study was undertaken using meta-analysis. The results reveal that inbreeding has caused a reduction in diversity of Small Tail Han Sheep from 2008 to 2014. Overall, our results are helpful in understanding the dynamic change in diversity, as well as providing information for a conservation strategy for this population.

Immune-related miRNAs in breast milk are extracellular miRNAs that are related to immune organ development and regulation of the immune function in infants and young animals. The goal of this study was to compare the expression levels of five immune-related miRNAs in breast milk in black goats, humans, and dairy cattle. The miRNAs from milk were extracted and the expression levels were assessed using quantitive RT-PCR methods. MiR-146, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-223, and miR-150 were all detected in Dazu black goat milk, and these miRNAs were significantly more highly expressed in colostrum than in mature milk of goats (P < 0.01), except for miR-150. Further, all five miRNAs were expressed in human colostrum, but patterns differed from those in goats: miR-146 and miR-155 were highly expressed (P < 0.01) in human colostrum, whereas miR-223 was abundant in goat colostrum (P < 0.01). In addition, five miRNAs were significantly higher in bovine mature milk than in goat milk (P < 0.01). Taken together, these results confirm that immune-related miRNAs are rich in breast milk with different expression levels depending on the lactation phase and species.