Luosang Dunzhu, Gao Yang, Hong Liang, Jiang Nan, Basang Wangdui
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Tibet Autonomous Regional Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lhasa, Tibet 850000, China.
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Breeding and Healthy Husbandry, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300392, China.
Comp Biochem Physiol Part D Genomics Proteomics. 2025 Jun;54:101395. doi: 10.1016/j.cbd.2024.101395. Epub 2024 Dec 9.
Yak meat plays a significant economic role for yaks. The unique environment of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau profoundly impacts the meat production performance of yaks. Yet, the regulatory mechanisms influencing muscle growth and development in yaks within this plateau environment remain poorly understood. The study investigated the transcriptome gene expression in the buttock muscle tissue of yaks residing at varying altitudes. It revealed 516 differentially expressed genes in the buttock muscle tissue of yaks at high altitude (4500 m) and low altitude (3000 m). The Gene Ontology (GO) annotation indicated that these differentially expressed genes primarily function in RNA binding, identical protein binding, nucleotide binding, pre-mRNA branch point binding, unfolded protein binding, insulin receptor binding, fructose 1,6-bisphosphate 1-phosphatase activity, collagen binding, platelet-derived growth factor receptor binding, and sodium channel inhibitor activity. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes predominantly participated in pathways such as the spliceosome, aminoacyl tRNA biosynthesis, RNA polymerase, cutin, suberin, and wax biosynthesis, ribosome biogenesis in eukaryotes, plant hormone signal transduction, axon guidance, fructose and mannose metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, and gastric acid secretion. This study unveiled the impact of the plateau environment on transcriptome gene expression in yak buttock muscle tissue, mapping out the gene expression profiles specific to yaks living at varying altitudes (3000 m and 4500 m). The findings offer crucial genomic insights into the mechanisms behind yak muscle adaptation to plateau environments.
牦牛肉对牦牛具有重要的经济作用。青藏高原独特的环境对牦牛的产肉性能产生了深远影响。然而，在这种高原环境下，影响牦牛肌肉生长发育的调控机制仍知之甚少。该研究调查了生活在不同海拔高度的牦牛臀部肌肉组织中的转录组基因表达情况。研究发现，高海拔（4500米）和低海拔（3000米）牦牛的臀部肌肉组织中有516个差异表达基因。基因本体论（GO）注释表明，这些差异表达基因主要在RNA结合、相同蛋白结合、核苷酸结合、前体mRNA分支点结合、未折叠蛋白结合、胰岛素受体结合、果糖1,6-二磷酸1-磷酸酶活性、胶原结合、血小板衍生生长因子受体结合和钠通道抑制活性等方面发挥作用。京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路分析显示，差异表达基因主要参与剪接体、氨酰tRNA生物合成、RNA聚合酶、角质、木栓质和蜡生物合成、真核生物核糖体生物发生、植物激素信号转导、轴突导向、果糖和甘露糖代谢、磷酸戊糖途径以及胃酸分泌等通路。本研究揭示了高原环境对牦牛臀部肌肉组织转录组基因表达的影响，绘制了生活在不同海拔高度（3000米和4500米）的牦牛特异性基因表达谱。这些发现为牦牛肌肉适应高原环境的机制提供了重要的基因组学见解。
