Lu Zengkui, Yuan Chao, Li Jianye, Guo Tingting, Yue Yaojing, Niu Chune, Liu Jianbin, Yang Bohui
Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
Sheep Breeding Engineering Technology Research Center of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Jan 24;8:801278. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.801278. eCollection 2021.
Tibetan sheep have lived on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for a long time, and after long-term natural selection, they have shown stable genetic adaptability to high-altitude environments. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of the long non-coding (lnc)RNAs involved in the adaptation of Tibetan sheep to hypoxia. Here, we collected lung tissues from high-altitude Tibetan sheep and low-altitude Hu sheep for RNA sequencing to study the regulatory mechanisms of the lncRNAs and mRNAs in the adaptation of Tibetan sheep to hypoxia. We identified 254 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 1,502 differentially expressed mRNAs. We found 20 pairs of cis-regulatory relationships between 15 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 14 protein-coding genes and two pairs of trans-regulatory relationships between two differentially expressed lncRNAs and two protein-coding genes. These differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNA target genes were mainly enriched in pathways related to lipid metabolism and immune function. Interaction network analysis showed that 17 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 15 differentially expressed mRNAs had an interactive relationship. Additionally, we used six differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs to verify the accuracy of the sequencing data via qRT-PCR. Our results provide a comprehensive overview of the expression patterns of the lncRNAs and mRNAs involved in the adaptation of Tibetan sheep to hypoxia, laying a foundation for further analysis of the adaptations of plateau animals.
藏羊长期生活在青藏高原，经过长期的自然选择，它们对高海拔环境表现出了稳定的遗传适应性。然而，关于参与藏羊适应低氧的长链非编码（lnc）RNA的分子机制却知之甚少。在此，我们采集了高海拔藏羊和低海拔湖羊的肺组织进行RNA测序，以研究lncRNA和mRNA在藏羊适应低氧过程中的调控机制。我们鉴定出254个差异表达的lncRNA和1502个差异表达的mRNA。我们发现15个差异表达的lncRNA与14个蛋白质编码基因之间存在20对顺式调控关系，以及2个差异表达的lncRNA与2个蛋白质编码基因之间存在2对反式调控关系。这些差异表达的mRNA和lncRNA靶基因主要富集在与脂质代谢和免疫功能相关的通路中。相互作用网络分析表明，17个差异表达的lncRNA和15个差异表达的mRNA存在相互作用关系。此外，我们使用6个差异表达的lncRNA和mRNA通过qRT-PCR验证了测序数据的准确性。我们的结果全面概述了参与藏羊适应低氧的lncRNA和mRNA的表达模式，为进一步分析高原动物的适应性奠定了基础。
