Abstract Background: folic acid participates in one-carbon metabolism, which supplies methyl groups to numerous reactions in the body. Impaired delivery of these methyl groups affects gene expression. We hypothesize that offspring exposed to less folic acid will express higher levels of Pomc (proopiomelanocortin) gene mRNA. Aim: to investigate the Pomc gene and protein expression pattern in the female offspring of female rats receiving a folic acid-deficient diet during gestation, lactation, and post-weaning. Methods: the study involved female rat offspring (n = 10) born from mothers subjected to a control (2.0 mg of folic acid/kg of food) or folic acid-deficient (0.5 mg of folic acid/kg of food) diet, and fed the same diet during post-weaning. Samples were collected from the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus of the female offspring for real-time PCR and Western blotting analyses. Results: the female offspring in the folic acid-deficient diet group had significantly higher Pomc gene and protein expression than the female offspring in the control diet group (p = 0.03, p = 0.01, respectively). Conclusion: a folic acid-deficient diet during gestation, lactation, and post-weaning increases Pomc gene and protein expression, but does not modify food intake or body weight of female rat offspring.

Resumen Antecedentes: el ácido fólico participa en el metabolismo de un solo carbono, que suministra grupos metilo a numerosas reacciones del cuerpo. La aportación alterada de estos grupos metilo afecta a la expresión génica. Nuestra hipótesis es que la descendencia expuesta a menos ácido fólico expresará niveles más altos de ARNm del gen Pomc (proopiomelanocortina). Objetivo: investigar el patrón de expresión del gen Pomc y de sus proteínas en crías de ratas hembras que recibieron una dieta deficiente en ácido fólico durante la gestación, la lactancia y el destete. Métodos: el estudio incluyó crías hembras (n = 10) nacidas de madres sometidas a una dieta control (2,0 mg de ácido fólico/kg de alimento) o deficiente en ácido fólico (0,5 mg de ácido fólico/kg de alimento) durante la gestación y la lactancia, y alimentadas con la misma dieta durante el destete. Se recolectaron muestras del núcleo arqueado del hipotálamo de las hembras para el análisis de la expresión génica (PCR en tiempo real) y de proteínas (inmunomanchado Western). Resultados: las hembras pertenecientes al grupo de dieta deficiente en ácido fólico tuvieron una expresión del gen Pomc y sus proteínas significativamente mayor que la de las hembras pertenecientes al grupo con dieta de control (p = 0,03, p = 0,01, respectivamente). Conclusión: la dieta deficiente en ácido fólico durante la gestación, la lactancia y el destete modifica la expresión del gen Pomc y sus proteínas pero no modifica la ingesta de alimentos ni el peso corporal de las ratas hembra.

The Y-encoded, testis-specific protein (TSPY) is a Y-specific gene. The copy numbers of TSPY range from 20 to 60 in men and up to 200 in bulls. In this study, we examined the possibility of using the TSPY gene to sex cattle. DNA from blood samples of 100 Nelore cattle (50 males and 50 females) from the Nelore Cattle Breeding Program (PMGRN) was screened for TSPY by PCR using TSPY-specific primers. The assay was highly specific since all male samples were TSPY-positive and all female samples were negative. Positive results were also obtained at low DNA concentrations (less than 1 rhog/muL). These results showed that TSPY was a good male-specific marker, the usefulness of which was enhanced by the high copy number of the gene. This is the first report to demonstrate the applicability of TSPY for sexing cattle.