Genomics separates the sheep from the goats

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Comparative genomic analysis suggests that sheep became a distinct species from goats ∼4 million years ago. Cattle, yaks, pigs, camels and

horses are progressively more distant relatives of sheep. The genome sequence, together with transcriptomic analysis of 94 samples from 40 different tissues, including 83 samples from four

Texel sheep other than the two sequenced, provide important clues as to how sheep process lignocellulose-rich plant material into animal protein and produce wool. The most striking insights

into both processes come from comparison of genes that control development of the rumen and the skin. The rumen is the first division of the four-compartment 'stomach', in which

most food collects immediately after being swallowed and from which it is later returned to the mouth as cud for thorough chewing. A tough keratinized lining, which is similar to the skin,

distinguishes the rumen from the true stomach. Elisha Gootwine of the Volcani Center in Bet Dagan, Israel, notes the importance of the rumen in the evolution of traits. “Rumen function is

probably a limiting factor for many traits related to the growth and reproduction of a host of farm animals,” he says. “But owing to the complex role played by microbiota in the efficiency

of food conversion and the emission of methane, genetic analysis of rumen efficiency is extremely challenging.” This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS

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institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES * Jiang, Y. et al. _Science_ 344, 1168–1173 (2014). Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR

INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Senior Editor, Nature Biotechnology, Peter Hare Authors * Peter Hare View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google

Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Hare, P. Genomics separates the sheep from the goats. _Nat Biotechnol_ 32, 754 (2014).

https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2985 Download citation * Published: 07 August 2014 * Issue Date: August 2014 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.2985 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the

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