| As a major component of bovine milk, oligosaccharides are an important source of potentially bioactive or functional food ingredients. Due to their similarity to human milk, recent studies have shown that bovine milk oligosaccharides (bMOs) may serve as important modulators of microbiotic activity, either as inhibitors of pathogen binding, or as bacteria-specific carbon sources for certain classes of beneficial bacteria. This thesis closely examines bMO structure and biosynthesis by correlating glycomic and transcriptomic data in order to obtain a more complete picture of the bovine milk glycome.;The first chapter of this thesis explores the genetic mechanisms underlying bovine milk oligosaccharide synthesis. The bovine somatic (milk) cell transcriptome was profiled via RNA sequencing in order to establish gene expression patterns during different stages of lactation. These results were correlated with the oligosaccharide profile of the bovine milk produced at these stages of lactation.;The second chapter of this thesis closely examines the structural characteristics of bovine milk oligosaccharides (bMOs). Porous graphitized carbon, an isomer-sensitive stationary phase, was used to separate bMOs isolated from bovine colostrum. Structural elucidation was then accomplished by a combination of linkage-specific exoglycosidase digestions and structure specific nano-LC/MS/MS fragmentation. |
