Iodine (I) is a micronutrient that mammals need for proper functionality of thyroid gland since it is the main component of thyroid hormones. Besides studies that have investigated the role of I in livestock nutrition, it is also important to know the transcriptomics changes in small ruminants following I supplementation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of I on the whole blood transcriptome in sheep. Fifteen lactating cross-bred ewes (3 to 4-year-old, 55 to 65 kg BW) at their late lactation period were enrolled in this study. At the beginning, all the animals had a 2-week acclimation period where they were fed with a basal diet which includes an adequate level of I (2 mg I/animal per day) in the form of calcium iodate (CaI2O6). Then, the ewes were randomly divided into two groups and fed in individual troughs: the control group (n = 5) was maintained on basal diet and the experimental group (I, n = 10) was fed for 40 days with a diet containing a high I supplementation (equivalent to 30 mg I/animal per day), in the form of potassium iodide. Whole blood and milk were collected individually at the beginning (T0) and after the 40 days of supplementation (T40). Iodine quantification was assessed in serum and milk sample. Microarray gene expression analysis was performed on whole blood and, filtering data using a fold change >2 with an adjusted P < 0.05, we identified 250 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the I group (T40 v. T0). Looking for biological processes associated with our DEGs, we found significant association with cell growth regulation. Thus, our study unveils the role of I supplementation on gene expression in sheep improving the knowledge about micronutrients in animal nutrition.

中文翻译：

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饲喂高碘饮食的绵羊的全转录组图谱。

碘（I）是哺乳动物为维持甲状腺正常功能所需的微量营养素，因为它是甲状腺激素的主要成分。除了研究I在牲畜营养中的作用的研究外，了解补充I后小反刍动物的转录组学变化也很重要。因此，本研究的目的是研究I对绵羊全血转录组的影响。本研究招募了十五头泌乳后期的杂交母羊（3至4岁，体重55至65 kg BW）。在开始时，所有动物都有2周的适应期，以基础饮食喂养，其中包括足够水平的碘酸钙（每天2 mg I /动物）的碘酸钙（CaI2O6）形式。然后，将母羊随机分为两组，并以单独的槽喂食：对照组（n = 5）维持基础饮食，而实验组（I，n = 10）饲喂40天，饮食中添加高I（相当于每天30 mg I /动物）。碘化钾的形式。在开始时（T0）和补充40天后（T40），分别采集全血和牛奶。在血清和牛奶样品中评估碘的定量。对全血进行微阵列基因表达分析，并使用倍数变化> 2且调整后的P <0.05过滤数据，我们在I组中鉴定了250个差异表达的基因（DEG）（T40 v。T0）。在寻找与我们的DEG相关的生物过程时，我们发现与细胞生长调节显着相关。从而，