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Although hormonal induction of parturition in cattle results in the successful delivery of healthy calves, the risk of retained fetal membrane is significantly increased. In a previous study, a combination of the long-acting glucocorticoid, triamcinolone acetonide, with a high dose of betamethasone partially normalized the placentomal gene expression during parturition; however, the incidence of retained fetal membrane remained high. This study further explored placentomal dysfunction and aimed to elucidate the mechanism of retained fetal membrane in parturition-induced cows. In this study, transcriptome analysis revealed that enhanced glucocorticoid exposure normalized the expression of a substantial fraction of genes in the cotyledons. In contrast, a significant reduction in the multiple signaling pathway activities, including interferon signaling, was found in the caruncles during induced parturition. Real-time PCR showed that the expression of interferon-tau in the caruncles, but not interferon-alpha or interferon-gamma, was significantly lower in induced parturition than spontaneous parturition. Interferon-stimulated gene expression was also significantly decreased in the caruncles during induced parturition. These results indicate that interferon signaling could be important for immunological control in placentomes during parturition. Additionally, this suggests that interferon-tau might be a pivotal ligand for interferon receptors in the caruncles. This study revealed that peripheral blood leukocytes in prepartum cows transcribed interferon-tau. Macrophage infiltration in the placentome is known to participate in the detachment of the fetal membrane from the caruncle. Thus, this study raised the possibility that immune cells migrating into the caruncles at parturition may act as a source of ligands that activate interferon signaling.

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a new poultry. In this study, we investigated the haplotype composition of mitochondrial DNA among emu populations farmed in Japan. We sequenced the D-loop region in 109 individuals, and detected four substitution sites and three haplotypes (Hap-a, -b, and -c). Hap-a was the most frequently observed haplotype in the Japanese populations. Although Hap-c was a rare haplotype in not only Japanese but also Australian populations, it was detected with high frequency in the Japanese farmed population. The AMOVA indicated that 9% of total variance was “among population”. The FST value was 0.087 and genetic differentiation was significant (P

Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae) are expected to become a novel poultry species for producing eggs, meat, and oil. In our previous studies, Japanese emu populations were predicted to have reduced genetic diversity through inbreeding. For a sustainable emu industry in Japan, it is necessary to understand the current genetic structure and relationships in dispersed farms. In this study, we investigated the genetic structure and relationships of six Japanese emu farms based on mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite polymorphisms. We analyzed the DNA sequences of the mitochondrial D-loop region in 157 individuals and detected four haplotypes with four nucleotide substitution sites (Hap-a, Hap-b, Hap-c, and Hap-d). Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 43.6% of total variance was "among population," and the F

Characterisation of carcass traits and fat quality is important to effectively produce and genetically improve emus. We investigated carcass traits in 309 emus. The meat production of female emus showed a significantly higher value than that of males (P

The emu is a useful and new breed of poultry, but their genetic improvement has not advanced yet due to their very recent domestication. Pedigree information is difficult to record because of their complex reproduction system (polyandry). To identify parent-offspring relationships in the emu, parentage test based on polymorphic DNA markers have to be developed. In this study, we isolated more than 25,000 microsatellite (simple sequence repeat, SSR) regions from Next-generation sequencing data via the QDD pipeline and developed 49 SSR markers with polymorphism in the Japanese farmed emu. The dinucleotide motifs, (AC)n, (AT)n and (AG)n, were the most frequently detected and were found on 10,167 (38.55%), 8,114 (30.76%) and 4,796 (18.18%) contigs, respectively. Forty-nine novel SSR markers were characterized in 20 individuals and showed NA ranged from 2 to 12, with an average of 4.2. HE/HO ranged from 0.389/0.071 to 0.702/1.000 with an average of 0.601/0.515. PIC value ranged from 0.059 to 0.886 with an average of 0.528, and 17 of 49 markers showed a higher polymorphism than 0.500. Thirty-four individuals were genotyped using 12 markers, and CERVUS simulations based on genotype showed that parents of all offspring were identified with 0.9995-1.0 probability. Thus, 49 novel SSR markers and a robust method for parentage test for the Japanese emu were developed.

エミュー（Dromaius novaehollandiae）は食肉，卵およびオイルを生産する新規動物資源となることが期待されている。しかしながら，エミュー産業の歴史は浅く，その生産形質の遺伝的改良はほとんど進んでいない。我々は，日本で最大規模となる北海道網走市のエミュー牧場の個体群を対象としてマイクロサテライト解析に基づく遺伝的多様度を経年的に調査した。検出されたアレルの数（NA）は2013，2014，2015および2016年でそれぞれ4.83，4.17，4.17および7.17であり，ヘテロ接合率（HE/HO）はそれぞれ0.466/0.339，0.426/0.325，0.433/0.384および0.550/0.347であった。近交係数（FIS）は調査したすべての世代において正の値を示し，2016年に孵化した個体では0.369と最も高い値が観察された。Structureプログラムを用いた解析では，本集団は3つのクラスターに分かれ，2016年に孵化した個体群は明らかに他の世代とは異なる遺伝的構成を示した。またアレル共有率に基づく系統樹は5つのクレードを示し，2016年に孵化した個体の約半数は一つのクレードに属した。本研究は，網走市のエミュー集団は遺伝的多様度が低いこと，遺伝的に3－5の異なる系統から構成されること，ならびに2016年に孵化した個体の遺伝的構成が他の世代とは異なることを確認した。, The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is predicted to be a new livestock animal for oil, meat and egg production. However, the genetic structure of emu populations in Japanese farms is scarcely known. The aim of this study was to determine the genetic diversity and population structure in the largest emu farm in Japan. We collected feather pulps of emu chicks (N＝131) from 40, 20, 23, and 48 individuals hatched at 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively, in the Okhotsk Emu farm in Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan. Using six microsatellite markers, we investigated the genetic diversity and structure of this farmed emu population. The number of alleles (NA) were 4.83, 4.17, 4.17, and 7.17, in individuals hatched in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. Expected and observed heterozygosity (HE ; HO, respectively) was 0.466/0.339, 0.426/0.325, 0.433/0.384, and 0.550/0.347, in each year, respectively. A high inbreeding coefficient (FIS) was observed in all tested generations (0.113-0.369). The Structure program and unrooted phylogenetic tree analysis showed that the Abashiri emu population is largely divided into three to five different clades. Our results suggested that the genetic diversity in the Abashiri emu population is low, and that it contains three to five genetic lineages. These data may help guide a more sustainable breeding of emus in Japan.

The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a useful poultry animal farmed for fat, meat, and eggs. Genetic structure and relationships among farmed emu populations in Japan are unknown and the number of microsatellite markers for genetic analysis of the emu is insufficient. In this study, we isolated 16 microsatellites from the emu genome and developed ten new microsatellite markers. These microsatellite markers were used to characterize three farm emu populations in Japan. The number of alleles ranged from 3 to 13 and the expected (HE) and observed heterozygosity (HO) of these microsatellite loci was 0.187–0.802 and 0.179–0.647, respectively. The polymorphic information content ranged from 0.176 to 0.786. Positive inbreeding coefficient (FIS) values were detected in all tested populations, and they ranged from 0.027 to 0.540. These results suggest that farm populations of the emu in Japan resulted from inbreeding. The fixation index (FST) values ranged from 0.026 to 0.061, and phylogenetic trees and population structure analysis confirmed no definitive genetic differentiation among the three populations. Therefore, these populations are at a relatively low level of genetic differentiation at present. The microsatellite markers developed in our study can be utilized for genetic analysis and preservation of genetic resources in the emu.