脂肪分布和脂肪酸成分与含量是由多基因调控的畜禽重要经济性状。脂质代谢相关功能基因筛选和调控机制研究是近年来动物遗传育种领域的研究热点之一。本课题组前期的表观组学和转录组学研究结果表明，ASIP基因在和牛和草原红牛背最长肌组织中呈差异表达，在高乳脂和低乳脂奶牛乳腺上皮细胞系进行的转录组学和micRNA组学分析中也表现差异表达，表明该基因可能对牛肉质和乳品质的脂肪性状形成具有重要作用。为解析该基因对于牛肉质和乳品质中脂肪代谢的调控机制，本研究拟以ASIP基因为研究对象，深入了解该基因在肉牛和奶牛不同组织中的表达模式及与肉质和乳品质性状的相关性；在敲除和过表达载体构建的基础上，利用RNAseq和PCR array等技术，揭示ASIP表达水平对牛前体脂肪细胞和乳腺上皮细胞脂肪与脂肪酸代谢的调节作用，探索ASIP基因对脂肪生成和脂肪酸代谢相关的调控网络和作用机制，为发掘新的脂肪性状功能基因奠定基础。

Fat distribution and fatty acid composition are important economic traits in livestock and poultry which are regulated by multi-genes. In recent years, the study on function genes screening and regulation mechanism involved in regulation of lipid metabolism is one of the hotspots in animal genetics and breeding. In our previous study, the results of epigenomics and transcriptomics in the longissimus dorsi muscle between Japanese black cattle (Wagyu) and Chinese Red Steppes, and also the results of transcriptomics and micRNA analysis in mammary epithelial cells between the high milk fat and low milk fat cow showed that the ASIP gene was differentially expressed which indicated this gene may play an important role in the formation of fat and fatty acid traits in meat and milk quality. In order to analyze the regulation mechanism of ASIP gene, this research will be focus on the fat metabolism in beef and milk quality, to deeply understand the expression pattern of ASIP gene in different tissues of cattle and cow and the correlation with meat and milk quality traits. On the basis of knockdown and over-expression vector construction, the effects of ASIP on the metabolism of lipid and fatty acid will be revealed in bovine pre-adipocytes and mammary gland epithelial cells by RNA-seq and PCR array and the regulatory networks and mechanism of ASIP gene will be explored in lipogenesis and fatty acid metabolism. The results of this project will lay a foundation to the discovery of novel function genes for fat and fatty acid traits in bovine genetics and breeding.