Background: Transgenic animal production is an important means of livestock breeding and can be used to model pharmaceutical applications.
Methods: In this study, to explore the biological activity of endogenously produced melatonin, Acetylserotonin-O-methyltransferase (ASMT)-overexpressed melatonin-enriched dairy goats were successfully generated through the use of pBC1-ASMT expression vector construction and prokaryotic embryo microinjection.
Results: These transgenic goats have the same normal phenotype as the wild-type goats (WT). However, the melatonin levels in their blood and milk were significantly increased (p < 0.05). In addition, the quality of their milk was also improved, showing elevated protein content and a reduced somatic cell number compared to the WT goats. No significant changes were detected in the intestinal microbiota patterns between groups. When the animals were challenged by the intravenous injection of E. coli, the ASMT-overexpressed goats had a lower level of pro-inflammatory cytokines and higher anti-inflammatory cytokines compared to the WT goats. Metabolic analysis uncovered a unique arachidonic acid metabolism pattern in transgenic goats.
Conclusions: The increased melatonin production due to ASMT overexpression in the transgenic goats may have contributed to their improved milk quality and enhanced the anti-inflammatory ability compared to the WT goats.
Keywords: acetylserotonin-O-methyltransferase (ASMT); arachidonic acid; cytokines; goat; intestinal microbiota; melatonin; milk quality.