Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have mapped which genes are turned on and off in the different tissues and organs in a sheep’s body. The finding, which sheds new light on the animal’s complex biology, including insight into the function of genes linked to immunity and meat quality, could eventually inform animal breeding programmes.
With sheep having more than 20,000 different genes, the scientists analysed the total RNA produced in each tissue of the sheep’s body. Their results represent a major step towards understanding how the sheep’s genetic information influences its physical traits.
