Open Chromatin Regions and RNA Expression in Multiple Tissues from Angus Cattle

The sustainability of the livestock industry hinges upon the improvement of production efficiency to the benefit of both consumers and producers. A large contribution to this betterment has been achieved through innovation in genetics, including the rapidly expanding field of epigenetics. Our goal for this research is to improve our understanding of the relationship of open chromatin regions and RNA expression in Black Angus cattle. Knowing what chromatin is open and where RNA is transcribed helps indicate the presence of other factors that may affect transcription. Their interactions will be analyzed using ATAC-seq and RNA-seq of three tissue types from four animals as biological replicates. Having a multitude of sample types from different specimens allows for better comparison to draw broader conclusions about open chromatin regions and RNA expression. Not only will the results from this project contribute to the completion of the overall bovine epigenome project, but they will also provide information to researchers that can in turn aid in the application of genomic tools and data toward production strategies