Özdemir Mustafa, Sajid Ghulam Asghar, Büyükkılıç Beyzi Selma, Kızılaslan Mehmet, Arzık Yunus, Yalçın Servet, White Stephen N, Cinar Mehmet Ulas
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Erciyes University, 38280 Kayseri, Türkiye.
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Genes (Basel). 2025 Apr 22;16(5):471. doi: 10.3390/genes16050471.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Hatchery fumigation is recognized as a crucial step to control microbial bloom in the environment, and formaldehyde is one of the most widely used disinfectants to ensure successful hatchability and healthy production. While many of the benefits are thought to be derived from disinfectant properties, it is possible that additional host gene and genetic pathway modulation could contribute to these outcomes. The current study aimed to capture the in ovo transcriptional response of liver tissue to formaldehyde treatment.
Chick embryos were subjected to formaldehyde fumigation treatment for 25 min at 24-25 °C and 75% relative humidity, keeping a control group as untreated. On the 18th day of incubation at 37.8 °C and 58-63% humidity, eggs were broken, and liver tissue was obtained for RNA isolation, cDNA library preparation, and RNA sequencing.
Bioinformatics analysis revealed 908 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs), among which 814 were known genes and 94 were novel genes. A total of 672 DEGs were upregulated, whereas 236 genes were downregulated in response to FA treatment. Of the 94 novel genes, 80 were upregulated. Key DEGs, associated QTLs, and transcription factors were involved in immuno-inflammatory responses, oxidative stress, epigenetic modification, and cellular adaptation-related activities. Further research should focus on biological validation of key DEGs to clarify their roles, pathways, and relationships to FA treatment.
Overall, these findings (1) provide critical molecular detail as a first step towards genetic selection to improve formaldehyde treatment response and effectiveness, and (2) provide DEG signatures for FA treatment as a reference against which to compare other interventions to achieve hatchability and production benefits.
背景/目的：孵化场熏蒸被认为是控制环境中微生物繁殖的关键步骤，甲醛是最广泛使用的消毒剂之一，以确保成功孵化率和健康生产。虽然许多益处被认为源自消毒特性，但额外的宿主基因和遗传途径调节也可能促成这些结果。本研究旨在捕捉肝脏组织对甲醛处理的胚胎内转录反应。
在24 - 25°C和75%相对湿度下，对鸡胚进行25分钟的甲醛熏蒸处理，设未处理的对照组。在37.8°C和58 - 63%湿度下孵化的第18天，打破鸡蛋，获取肝脏组织用于RNA分离、cDNA文库制备和RNA测序。
生物信息学分析揭示了908个显著差异表达基因（DEG），其中814个是已知基因，94个是新基因。共有672个DEG上调，而236个基因在FA处理后下调。在94个新基因中，80个上调。关键DEG、相关QTL和转录因子参与免疫炎症反应、氧化应激、表观遗传修饰和细胞适应性相关活动。进一步的研究应集中在关键DEG的生物学验证上，以阐明它们的作用、途径以及与FA处理的关系。
总体而言，这些发现（1）提供了关键的分子细节，作为朝着遗传选择以改善甲醛处理反应和有效性迈出的第一步，（2）提供了FA处理的DEG特征，作为比较其他干预措施以实现孵化率和生产效益的参考。
