Predicting bull fertility prior to breeding is a current challenge for the dairy industry. The use of molecular biomarkers has been previously assessed. However, the integration of this information has not been performed to extract biologically relevant markers. The goal of this study was to integrate DNA methylation data with previously published RNA‐sequencing results in order to identify candidate markers for sire fertility. A total of 1765 differentially methylated cytosines were found between high‐ and low‐fertility sires. Ten genes associated with 11 differentially methylated cytosines were found in a previous study of gene expression between high‐ and low‐fertility sires. Additionally, two of these genes code for proteins found exclusively in bull seminal plasma. Collectively, our results reveal 10 genes that could be used in the future as a panel for predicting bull fertility.

中文翻译：

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将全基因组DNA甲基化数据与RNA测序数据整合在一起，以鉴定牛繁殖力的标志。

在育种之前预测公牛的繁殖力是乳业的当前挑战。先前已经评估了分子生物标志物的使用。但是，尚未进行此信息的整合以提取生物学上相关的标记。这项研究的目的是将DNA甲基化数据与先前发表的RNA测序结果进行整合，以鉴定父本育性的候选标记。高生育力和低生育率的父亲之间共发现1765个差异甲基化胞嘧啶。在以前的高生育力和低生育力父亲之间的基因表达研究中，发现了与11个差异甲基化胞嘧啶相关的10个基因。此外，这些基因中的两个编码专门在牛精浆中发现的蛋白质。总的来说，