Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40760047›Full record

ArticleCommunications biology2025

A pilot multi-omics study reveals genetic mechanisms regulating milk component traits in dairy cattle.

Weijie Zheng, Junnan Zhang, Jinfeng Huang, Bo Han, Yanan Liu, Dongxiao Sun

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Communications biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. ELF5-Mediated Enhancer-Promoter Interaction Regulates LALBA Expression in Ovine Mammary Gland.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Pan-tissue transcriptomic profiling of dairy cattle.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Weijie Zheng *Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Junnan Zhang *Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Jinfeng HuangDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, China.
Bo HanDepartment of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Yanan LiuDepartment of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Dongxiao SunDepartment of Animal Genetics and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. sundx@cau.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7512-5946

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Milk protein percentage (PP) and fat percentage (FP) are important indicators for measuring milk quality, but only a few causative genes such as DGAT1, GHR, and ABCG2, have been identified, indicating substantial potential for further exploration. Here, we integrated genotyping, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, single-cell atlas and cis-QTLs datasets from the liver and mammary gland to investigate their genetic regulation. We identified cell type affecting milk composition, such as HPE2 and LumSec-HSPH1, and highlighted nine candidate genes (EFNA1, ERBB3, DUSP16, DEPTOR, TRIM46, HSTN, CIDEA, ACACA and SPP1) that are involved in the regulation of milk protein and fat synthesis through MAPK, AMPK, PI3K-Akt, and mTOR signalling pathways. Notably, EFNA1 was consistently identified across all omics analyses, showing increased promoter accessibility in the high PP group, potentially driven by CTCF and RXRA-mediated transcriptional activation. Overall, this study reveals potential cell types, candidate genes, and regulatory mechanisms influencing milk composition, offering insights to support milk quality improvement. The limited sample size represents the main constraint of this work, and future efforts will focus on population-scale genetic analyses and wet-lab validation.

Indexed as

MilkMilk ProteinsAnimalsCattleFemaleGene Expression RegulationMammary Glands, AnimalMultiomicsPilot ProjectsQuantitative Trait LociMilk Proteins

Identifiers

PMID40760047
PMCPMC12322288

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.