Livestock Epigenetics is the first book to review advances in the understanding of the molecular basis of epigenetic mechanisms in gene expression in livestock species. Epigenetics impact many economically important traits from growth and development to more efficient reproduction and breeding strategies. The book opens with a broad introductory chapter that discusses the importance of an understanding of epigenetics to efficient and sustainable livestock production. In subsequent chapters the role of epigenetics in specific aspects of animal production are reviewed. The final chapter will provide researchers with a valuable basis for the use of comparative epigenetics research to allow research to apply advances across organisms. "Livestock Epigenetics" will provide detailed information on this rapidly expanding field of research with contributions from a global team of experts.
Contributors vii
Preface xi
1. Epigenetics of Mammalian Gamete and Embryo Development 3
2. Epigenetics of Cloned Preimplantation Embryos of Domestic Animals 27
3. Roles of Imprinted Genes in Fertility and Promises of the Genome-Wide Technologies 43
4. Sheep as an Experimental Model for Human ART: Novel Insights on Phenotypic Alterations in ART-Derived Sheep Conceptuses 59
5. The DLK1-DIO3 Imprinted Gene Cluster and the Callipyge Phenotype in Sheep 73
6. Genomic Imprinting and Imprinted Gene Clusters in the Bovine Genome 89
7. Imprinting in Genome Analysis: Modeling Parent-of-Origin Effects in QTL Studies 113
8. Epigenetics and Animal Health 131
9. Epigenetics and microRNAs in Animal Health 147
10. Nutrients and Epigenetics in Bovine Cells 161
Index 179
Hasan Khatib, Associate professor of Dairy Science. He earned his BS degree in Biology (1985), MS degree in Human Genetics (1988), and Ph.D. in Genetics (1995) at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem-Israel. From 1997 to 2001 Dr. Khatib had an appointment in teaching strategies of teaching and sciences at David Yellin College in Jerusalem. Prior to joining the faculty at UW-Madison in 2002, he served as genetic counselor in Israel on prevention of genetic diseases among Palestinians and a director of the Institute for Genetic Identification in Israel. Dr. Khatib's current research interests are identification of genes of economic importance in dairy cattle (milk production, health and reproduction traits) and studying the imprinting status of the cattle genome and investigating sequence characteristics of imprinted genes in mammalian species.