Complicated Relationships: A Review of Biological Interaction Networks and Pathways in Animal Science

Abstract

The availability of high-throughput genomic technologies has resulted in the identification of millions of DNA polymorphisms, candidate genes and metabolites associated with several economically important traits in livestock production. However, despite the increase in DNA markers and candidate genes associated with these productivity traits, only a small proportion of phenotypic variation in these traits can be explained. This missing heritability creates a need to address the other levels of regulation of gene expression such as the levels occurring post-translation including metabolites. There is also need to use biological network analysis to understand the complex relationships and interactions among genes, metabolites, and markers in shaping the traits of economic importance in livestock production. At the moment, biological network analysis is still in its infancy in animal science; however, it has a great potential to create a holistic view of the underlying biological mechanisms associated with the variation in important traits in livestock production. The goal is to describe some of the approaches used to identify novel DNA variants associated with economically important traits in livestock and address biological interaction network reconstruction, analysis, and application in research in animal science.