Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Molecular Design of Jiangsu Province, College of Animal Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, the Ministry of Education of China, Institutes of Agricultural Science and Technology Development, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China.
Genome. 2020 Dec;63(12):615-628. doi: 10.1139/gen-2020-0054. Epub 2020 Sep 21.
Skin and feather follicle morphogenesis are important processes for duck development; however, the mechanisms underlying morphogenesis at the embryonic stage remain unclear. To improve the understanding of these processes, we used transcriptome and weighted gene co-expression network analyses to identify the critical genes and pathways involved in duck skin development. Five modules were found to be the most related to five key stages in skin development that span from embryonic day 8 (E8) to postnatal day 7 (D7). Using STEM software, 6519 genes from five modules were clustered into 10 profiles to reveal key genes. Above all, we obtained several key module genes including , , , , , , and . Furthermore, we revealed that several pathways play critical roles throughout the skin development process, including the Wnt pathway and cytoskeletal rearrangement-related pathways, whereas others are involved in specific stages of skin development, such as the Notch, Hedgehog, and TGF-beta signaling pathways. Overall, this study identified the pathways and genes that play critical roles in skin development, which may provide a basis for high-quality down-type meat duck breeding.
皮肤和羽毛毛囊形态发生是鸭子发育的重要过程；然而，胚胎阶段形态发生的机制尚不清楚。为了提高对这些过程的认识，我们使用转录组和加权基因共表达网络分析来鉴定参与鸭子皮肤发育的关键基因和途径。发现五个模块与跨越从胚胎第 8 天（E8）到出生后第 7 天（D7）的五个关键皮肤发育阶段最相关。使用 STEM 软件，将五个模块中的 6519 个基因聚类为 10 个图谱，以揭示关键基因。最重要的是，我们获得了几个关键模块基因，包括 、 、 、 、 、 。此外，我们揭示了几个途径在整个皮肤发育过程中发挥关键作用，包括 Wnt 途径和细胞骨架重排相关途径，而其他途径则参与皮肤发育的特定阶段，如 Notch、Hedgehog 和 TGF-β 信号通路。总的来说，这项研究确定了在皮肤发育中起关键作用的途径和基因，这可能为高质量的肉鸭品种培育提供基础。
