University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of MCD Biology, 80309-0347, USA.
Physiol Genomics. 2011 Jan 1;43(2):69-76. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00162.2010. Epub 2010 Nov 2.
The infrequently feeding Burmese python (Python molurus) experiences significant and rapid postprandial cardiac hypertrophy followed by regression as digestion is completed. To begin to explore the molecular mechanisms of this response, we have sequenced and assembled the fasted and postfed Burmese python heart transcriptomes with Illumina technology using the chicken (Gallus gallus) genome as a reference. In addition, we have used RNA-seq analysis to identify differences in the expression of biological processes and signaling pathways between fasted, 1 day postfed (DPF), and 3 DPF hearts. Out of a combined transcriptome of ∼2,800 mRNAs, 464 genes were differentially expressed. Genes showing differential expression at 1 DPF compared with fasted were enriched for biological processes involved in metabolism and energetics, while genes showing differential expression at 3 DPF compared with fasted were enriched for processes involved in biogenesis, structural remodeling, and organization. Moreover, we present evidence for the activation of physiological and not pathological signaling pathways in this rapid, novel model of cardiac growth in pythons. Together, our data provide the first comprehensive gene expression profile for a reptile heart.
不常进食的缅甸蟒（Python molurus）在消化完成后会经历显著而迅速的餐后心肌肥大，随后会发生退化。为了开始探索这种反应的分子机制，我们使用 Illumina 技术对禁食和进食后的缅甸蟒心脏转录组进行了测序和组装，并以鸡（Gallus gallus）基因组作为参考。此外，我们还使用 RNA-seq 分析来鉴定禁食、1 天进食后（1 DPF）和 3 DPF 心脏之间生物过程和信号通路表达的差异。在大约 2800 个 mRNA 的组合转录组中，有 464 个基因差异表达。与禁食相比，在 1 DPF 时表现出差异表达的基因富集了与代谢和能量有关的生物学过程，而与禁食相比，在 3 DPF 时表现出差异表达的基因富集了与生物发生、结构重塑和组织有关的过程。此外，我们还为这种在蟒蛇中快速出现的新型心脏生长模型中生理而非病理信号通路的激活提供了证据。总之，我们的数据为爬行动物心脏提供了第一个全面的基因表达谱。
