Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds
Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep are two commonly raised local sheep breeds in China, and they have different morphological characteristics, such as tail type and adaptability to extreme environments. A fat tail in sheep is the main adipose depot in sheep, whereas the liver is an important organ for fat m...
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/13/1650 |
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| author | Taotao Li Meilin Jin Xiaojuan Fei Zehu Yuan Yuqin Wang Kai Quan Tingpu Wang Junxiang Yang Maochang He Caihong Wei |
| author_facet | Taotao Li Meilin Jin Xiaojuan Fei Zehu Yuan Yuqin Wang Kai Quan Tingpu Wang Junxiang Yang Maochang He Caihong Wei |
| author_sort | Taotao Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep are two commonly raised local sheep breeds in China, and they have different morphological characteristics, such as tail type and adaptability to extreme environments. A fat tail in sheep is the main adipose depot in sheep, whereas the liver is an important organ for fat metabolism, with the uptake, esterification, oxidation, and secretion of fatty acids (FAs). Meanwhile, adaptations to high-altitude and arid environments also affect liver metabolism. Therefore, in this study, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was used to characterize the difference in liver fat metabolism between Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep. We identified 1179 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (<i>Q</i>-value < 0.05) between the two sheep breeds, including 25 fat-metabolism-related genes. Through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, 16 pathways were significantly enriched (<i>Q</i>-value < 0.05), such as the proteasome, glutamatergic synapse, and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. In particular, one of these pathways was enriched to be associated with fat metabolism, namely the thermogenesis pathway, to which fat-metabolism-related genes such as <i>ACSL1</i>, <i>ACSL4</i>, <i>ACSL5</i>, <i>CPT1A</i>, <i>CPT1C</i>, <i>SLC25A20</i>, and <i>FGF21</i> were enriched. Then, the expression levels of <i>ACSL1</i>, <i>CPT1A</i>, and <i>FGF21</i> were verified in mRNA and protein levels via qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis between the two sheep breeds. The results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of these three genes were higher in the livers of Tibetan sheep than those of Hu sheep. The above genes are mainly related to FAs oxidation, involved in regulating the oxidation of liver FAs. So, this study suggested that Tibetan sheep liver has a greater FAs oxidation level than Hu sheep liver. In addition, the significant enrichment of fat-metabolism-related genes in the thermogenesis pathway appears to be related to plateau-adaptive thermogenesis in Tibetan sheep, which may indicate that liver- and fat-metabolism-related genes have an impact on adaptive thermogenesis. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:10:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10f6238e5c04409aa3697f64cf1cd42f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:10:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-10f6238e5c04409aa3697f64cf1cd42f2023-11-23T19:32:31ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-06-011213165010.3390/ani12131650Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep BreedsTaotao Li0Meilin Jin1Xiaojuan Fei2Zehu Yuan3Yuqin Wang4Kai Quan5Tingpu Wang6Junxiang Yang7Maochang He8Caihong Wei9Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaJoint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety, Ministry of Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471023, ChinaCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economy, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Tianshui Normal University, Tianshui 741000, ChinaGansu Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Pingliang 744000, ChinaGansu Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Pingliang 744000, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, ChinaHu sheep and Tibetan sheep are two commonly raised local sheep breeds in China, and they have different morphological characteristics, such as tail type and adaptability to extreme environments. A fat tail in sheep is the main adipose depot in sheep, whereas the liver is an important organ for fat metabolism, with the uptake, esterification, oxidation, and secretion of fatty acids (FAs). Meanwhile, adaptations to high-altitude and arid environments also affect liver metabolism. Therefore, in this study, RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was used to characterize the difference in liver fat metabolism between Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep. We identified 1179 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (<i>Q</i>-value < 0.05) between the two sheep breeds, including 25 fat-metabolism-related genes. Through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, 16 pathways were significantly enriched (<i>Q</i>-value < 0.05), such as the proteasome, glutamatergic synapse, and oxidative phosphorylation pathways. In particular, one of these pathways was enriched to be associated with fat metabolism, namely the thermogenesis pathway, to which fat-metabolism-related genes such as <i>ACSL1</i>, <i>ACSL4</i>, <i>ACSL5</i>, <i>CPT1A</i>, <i>CPT1C</i>, <i>SLC25A20</i>, and <i>FGF21</i> were enriched. Then, the expression levels of <i>ACSL1</i>, <i>CPT1A</i>, and <i>FGF21</i> were verified in mRNA and protein levels via qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis between the two sheep breeds. The results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of these three genes were higher in the livers of Tibetan sheep than those of Hu sheep. The above genes are mainly related to FAs oxidation, involved in regulating the oxidation of liver FAs. So, this study suggested that Tibetan sheep liver has a greater FAs oxidation level than Hu sheep liver. In addition, the significant enrichment of fat-metabolism-related genes in the thermogenesis pathway appears to be related to plateau-adaptive thermogenesis in Tibetan sheep, which may indicate that liver- and fat-metabolism-related genes have an impact on adaptive thermogenesis.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/13/1650sheepliverfat metabolismRNA-seq |
| spellingShingle | Taotao Li Meilin Jin Xiaojuan Fei Zehu Yuan Yuqin Wang Kai Quan Tingpu Wang Junxiang Yang Maochang He Caihong Wei Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds Animals sheep liver fat metabolism RNA-seq |
| title | Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds |
| title_full | Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds |
| title_fullStr | Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds |
| title_short | Transcriptome Comparison Reveals the Difference in Liver Fat Metabolism between Different Sheep Breeds |
| title_sort | transcriptome comparison reveals the difference in liver fat metabolism between different sheep breeds |
| topic | sheep liver fat metabolism RNA-seq |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/13/1650 |
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