School of Life Science and Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528231, Guangdong, China.
College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, Guangdong, China.
BMC Genomics. 2018 May 25;19(1):399. doi: 10.1186/s12864-018-4773-z.
Early feathering and late feathering in chickens are sex-linked phenotypes, which have commercial application in the poultry industry for sexing chicks at hatch and have important impacts on performance traits. However, the genetic mechanism controlling feather development and feathering patterns is unclear. Here, miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in chicken wing skin tissues were analysed through high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing, aiming to understand the biological process of follicle development and the formation of different feathering phenotypes.
Compared to the N1 group with no primary feathers extending out, 2893 genes and 31 miRNAs displayed significantly different expression in the F1 group with primary feathers longer than primary-covert feathers, and 1802 genes and 11 miRNAs in the L2 group displayed primary feathers shorter than primary-covert feathers. Only 201 altered genes and 3 altered miRNAs were identified between the N1 and L2 groups (fold change > 2, q value < 0.01). Both sequencing and qPCR tests revealed that PRLR was significantly decreased in the F1 and L2 groups compared to the N1 group, whereas SPEF2 was significantly decreased in the F1 group compared to the N1 or L2 group. Functional analysis revealed that the altered genes or targets of altered miRNAs were involved in multiple biological processes and pathways related to feather growth and development, such as the Wnt signalling pathway, the TGF-beta signalling pathway, the MAPK signalling pathway, epithelial cell differentiation, and limb development. Integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA showed that 14 pairs of miRNA-mRNA negatively interacted in the process of feather formation.
Transcriptomic sequencing of wing skin tissues revealed large changes in F1 vs. N1 and L2 vs. N1, but few changes in F1 vs. L2 for both miRNA and mRNA expression. PRLR might only contribute to follicle development, while SPEF2 was highly related to the growth rate of primary feathers or primary-covert feathers and could be responsible for early and late feather formation. Interactions between miR-1574-5p/NR2F, miR-365-5p/JAK3 and miR-365-5p/CDK6 played important roles in hair or feather formation. In all, our results provide novel evidence to understand the molecular regulation of follicle development and feathering phenotype.
鸡的早期羽毛和晚期羽毛是性连锁表型，在禽类工业中具有在孵化时对雏鸡进行性别鉴定的商业应用，并对性能特征有重要影响。然而，控制羽毛发育和羽毛图案的遗传机制尚不清楚。在此，通过高通量转录组测序分析了鸡翅膀皮肤组织中的 miRNA 和 mRNA 表达谱，旨在了解毛囊发育和不同羽毛表型形成的生物学过程。
与 N1 组（没有延伸的初级羽毛）相比，F1 组（初级羽毛比初级-绒羽长）中有 2893 个基因和 31 个 miRNA 的表达差异显著，而 L2 组（初级羽毛比初级-绒羽短）中有 1802 个基因和 11 个 miRNA 的表达差异显著。仅在 N1 组和 L2 组之间鉴定到 201 个差异表达基因和 3 个差异表达 miRNA（倍数变化 > 2，q 值 < 0.01）。测序和 qPCR 测试均显示，与 N1 组相比，F1 和 L2 组的 PRLR 显著降低，而与 N1 或 L2 组相比，F1 组的 SPEF2 显著降低。功能分析显示，改变的基因或改变的 miRNA 的靶基因参与了与羽毛生长和发育相关的多个生物学过程和途径，如 Wnt 信号通路、TGF-β 信号通路、MAPK 信号通路、上皮细胞分化和肢体发育。miRNA 和 mRNA 的综合分析显示，在羽毛形成过程中，有 14 对 miRNA-mRNA 呈负相互作用。
翅膀皮肤组织的转录组测序显示，F1 与 N1 和 L2 与 N1 相比，miRNA 和 mRNA 的表达都有较大变化，但 F1 与 L2 相比，miRNA 和 mRNA 的表达变化较少。PRLR 可能仅与毛囊发育有关，而 SPEF2 与初级羽毛或初级-绒羽的生长速度高度相关，可能负责早期和晚期羽毛的形成。miR-1574-5p/NR2F、miR-365-5p/JAK3 和 miR-365-5p/CDK6 之间的相互作用在毛发或羽毛形成中发挥了重要作用。总之，我们的研究结果为理解毛囊发育和羽毛表型的分子调控提供了新的证据。
