MAPK8 and mastitis: GO analysis (Fig. 3A) showed that the up-regulated genes in the mammary tissue from healthy cows were largely associated with: MAPKKK cascade, protein kinase cascade, JNK cascade, macromolecule biosynthetic process, cellular biosynthetic process, macromolecule metabolic process, etc. The up-regulated genes in the mammary tissue from cows with mastitis (Fig. 3B) were mainly implicated in: MAPKKK cascade, protein kinase cascade, JNK cascade, organic substance, inflammatory response, ATP binding, adenyl nucleotide binding and adenylribo-nucleotide binding.