Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission of China, Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Resource Reservation and Utilization of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Chongqing Institute for Food and Drug Control, Chongqing 404100, China.
Gene. 2023 Oct 30;884:147743. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2023.147743. Epub 2023 Aug 26.
Yak is one of the rare and unique cattle species on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, which has strong adaptability to the extreme environment of the plateau. The spleens are important functional organs that enable animals to adapt to their external environment and are vital in the growth and development process. To further investigate changes in immune function during yak development, we compared the transcriptome profiles of spleen tissues among juvenile (1-day old), youth (15-months old), and prime (5-years old) yaks. Immunology of spleen development was evaluated based on histological analyses and global gene expression was examined by using RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. In this work, we found 6378 genes with significant differences between the spleen of juvenile yak and youth yak, with the largest difference between groups. There were 3144 genes with significant differences between the spleen of young yak and prime yak, with the smallest differences between groups. Further, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were conducted for the functional annotation of these genes. GO and KEGG analysis showed that some of them were related to growth, disease, immune, and metabolism. However, the genetic mechanism underlying the adaptability of yak spleens at different ages to harsh plateau environments remains unknown. These findings are important for studying the mechanisms of spleen development in yaks of different age groups.
牦牛是青藏高原特有的珍稀牛种之一，具有极强的高原极端环境适应能力。脾脏是动物适应外界环境的重要功能器官，在生长发育过程中至关重要。为了进一步研究牦牛发育过程中免疫功能的变化，我们比较了幼龄（1 日龄）、青年（15 月龄）和成年（5 岁）牦牛脾脏组织的转录组谱。基于组织学分析评估了脾脏发育的免疫学特性，并通过 RNA 测序（RNA-seq）技术检查了整体基因表达。在这项工作中，我们发现幼龄牦牛和青年牦牛脾脏之间有 6378 个基因存在显著差异，两组之间差异最大。青年牦牛和成年牦牛脾脏之间有 3144 个基因存在显著差异，两组之间差异最小。此外，还对这些基因进行了基因本体论（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）分析，以对这些基因进行功能注释。GO 和 KEGG 分析表明，其中一些基因与生长、疾病、免疫和代谢有关。然而，不同年龄牦牛脾脏对高原恶劣环境适应性的遗传机制尚不清楚。这些发现对于研究不同年龄组牦牛脾脏发育的机制非常重要。
