A Microarray-Based Analysis Reveals That A Short Photoperiod Promotes Hair Growth in the Arbas Cashmere Goat

we evaluated the Arbas Cashmere goat, a species that is especially used in this type of research. The goats were exposed to an experimentally controlled short photoperiod to study the regulation of cyclical cashmere growth. Exposure to a short photoperiod extended the anagen phase of the Cashmere goat hair follicle to increase cashmere production. Based on assessments of tissue sections, it was observed that the short photoperiod significantly induced cashmere growth. A comparison of the differences in gene expression between the short photoperiod and the natural conditions using gene chip technology supported this conclusion. Using the gene chip data, we identified genes that showed altered expression under the short photoperiod compared to natural conditions, and it was found that these genes are involved in the biological processes of hair follicle growth, structural composition of the hair follicle, and the morphogenesis of the surrounding skin appendages. Based on their similar weights, health conditions and good reproductive performance in a group of the same strain, we chose 62-year-old female adult Arbas Cashmere goats as our research specimens and randomly divided them into a test group (T1, T2, T3) and a control group (C1, C2, C3).The goats in the test group were grazed, fed, and allowed to drink from 9:30-16:30 daily, and they were housed in a dark shed with good air conditions for the rest of the time. The temperature in the shed was 1 degree less than that outside, and the opacity was controlled at approximately 0.1 lux. The control group was grazed in natural conditions. We used regular management to care for all of the goats.