scholarly journals Integrative Analysis of Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Profiles Uncovers Biological Pathways of Feed Efficiency in Pigs

Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 275
Author(s):  
Priyanka Banerjee ◽  
Victor Adriano Okstoft Carmelo ◽  
Haja N. Kadarmideen

Feed efficiency (FE) is an economically important trait. Thus, reliable predictors would help to reduce the production cost and provide sustainability to the pig industry. We carried out metabolome-transcriptome integration analysis on 40 purebred Duroc and Landrace uncastrated male pigs to identify potential gene-metabolite interactions and explore the molecular mechanisms underlying FE. To this end, we applied untargeted metabolomics and RNA-seq approaches to the same animals. After data quality control, we used a linear model approach to integrate the data and find significant differently correlated gene-metabolite pairs separately for the breeds (Duroc and Landrace) and FE groups (low and high FE) followed by a pathway over-representation analysis. We identified 21 and 12 significant gene-metabolite pairs for each group. The valine-leucine-isoleucine biosynthesis/degradation and arginine-proline metabolism pathways were associated with unique metabolites. The unique genes obtained from significant metabolite-gene pairs were associated with sphingolipid catabolism, multicellular organismal process, cGMP, and purine metabolic processes. While some of the genes and metabolites identified were known for their association with FE, others are novel and provide new avenues for further research. Further validation of genes, metabolites, and gene-metabolite interactions in larger cohorts will elucidate the regulatory mechanisms and pathways underlying FE.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyanka Banerjee ◽  
Victor Adriano Okstoft Carmelo ◽  
Haja N Kadarmideen

ABSTRACTFeed efficiency (FE) is an economically important trait. Thus, reliable predictors would help to reduce the production cost and provide sustainability to the pig industry. We carried out metabolome-transcriptome integration analysis on 40 purebred Duroc and Landrace male uncastrated pigs to identify potential gene-metabolite interactions and explore the molecular mechanism underlying FE. To this end, we applied untargeted metabolomics and RNA-seq approaches to the same animals. After data quality control, we used a linear model approach to integrate the data and find significant differently correlated gene-metabolite pairs separately for the breeds (Duroc and Landrace) and FE groups (low and high FE) followed by a pathway over-representation analysis. We identified 21 and 12 significant gene-metabolite pairs for each group. The valine-leucine-isoleucine biosynthesis/degradation and arginine-proline metabolism pathways were associated with unique metabolites. The unique genes obtained from significant metabolite-gene pairs were associated with sphingolipid catabolism, multicellular organismal process, cGMP, and purine metabolic processes. While some of the genes and metabolites identified were known for their association with FE, others are novel and provide new avenues for further research. Further validation of genes, metabolites, and gene-metabolite interactions in larger cohorts will help us to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms and pathways underlying FE.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cineng Xu ◽  
Xingwang Wang ◽  
Zhanwei Zhuang ◽  
Jie Wu ◽  
Shenping Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Feed efficiency (FE) is an important trait in the porcine industry. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms of FE is vital for the improvement of this trait. In this study, 6 extreme high-FE and 6 low-FE pigs were selected from 225 Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) (DLY) pigs for transcriptomic analysis. RNA-seq analysis was performed to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the liver tissues of the 12 individuals, and 507 DEGs were identified between high-FE pigs (HE- group) and low-FE pigs (LE- group). A gene ontology (GO) enrichment and pathway enrichment analysis were performed and revealed that glycolytic metabolism and lipid synthesis-related pathways were significantly enriched within DEGs; all of these DEGs were downregulated in the HE- group. Moreover, Weighted gene co-expression analysis (WGCNA) revealed that oxidative phosphorylation, thermogenesis, and energy metabolism-related pathways were negatively related to HE- group, which might result in lower energy consumption in higher efficiency pigs. These results implied that the higher FE in the HE- group may be attributed to a lower glycolytic, energy consumption and lipid synthesizing potential in the liver. Furthermore, our findings suggested that the inhibition of lipid synthesis and glucose metabolic activity in the liver may be strategies for improving the FE of DLY pigs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifeng Zhao ◽  
Xian Zou ◽  
Tingting Lu ◽  
Ming Deng ◽  
Yaokun Li ◽  
...  

Follicular development and maturation has a significant impact on goat reproductive performance, and it is therefore important to understand the molecular basis of this process. The importance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in mammalian reproduction has been established, but little is known about the roles of lncRNAs in different follicular stages, especially in goats. In this study, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) of large follicles (>10 mm) and small follicles (<3 mm) of Chuanzhong black goats was performed to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of lncRNAs and mRNAs in follicular development and maturation. A total of 8 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and 1,799 DEmRNAs were identified, and the majority of these were upregulated in small follicles. MRO, TC2N, CDO1, and NTRK1 were potentially associated with follicular maturation. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the DEmRNAs involved in ovarian steroidogenesis (BMP6, CYP11A1, CYP19A1, 3BHSD, STAR, LHCGR, and CYP51A1) and cAMP signaling play roles in regulating follicular maturation and developmental inhibition respectively. Five target pairs of DElncRNA-DEmRNA, namely, ENSCHIT00000001255-OTX2, ENSCHIT00000006005-PEG3, ENSCHIT00000009455-PIWIL3, ENSCHIT00000007977-POMP, and ENSCHIT00000000834-ACTR3 in co-expression analysis provide a clue in follicular development and maturation of lncRNA-mRNA interaction. Our findings provide a valuable resource for lncRNA studies, and could potentially provide a deeper understanding of the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of goat follicular development and maturation.


Genes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 896
Author(s):  
Yuenan Zhou ◽  
Pei Yang ◽  
Shuang Xie ◽  
Min Shi ◽  
Jianhua Huang ◽  
...  

The endoparasitic wasp Cotesia vestalis is an important biological agent for controlling the population of Plutella xylostella, a major pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. Though the genome of C. vestalis has recently been reported, molecular mechanisms associated with sexual development have not been comprehensively studied. Here, we combined PacBio Iso-Seq and Illumina RNA-Seq to perform genome-wide profiling of pharate adult and adult development of male and female C. vestalis. Taking advantage of Iso-Seq full-length reads, we identified 14,466 novel transcripts as well as 8770 lncRNAs, with many lncRNAs showing a sex- and stage-specific expression pattern. The differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses showed 2125 stage-specific and 326 sex-specific expressed genes. We also found that 4819 genes showed 11,856 alternative splicing events through combining the Iso-Seq and RNA-Seq data. The results of comparative analyses showed that most genes were alternatively spliced across developmental stages, and alternative splicing (AS) events were more prevalent in females than in males. Furthermore, we identified six sex-determining genes in this parasitic wasp and verified their sex-specific alternative splicing profiles. Specifically, the characterization of feminizer and doublesex splicing between male and female implies a conserved regulation mechanism of sexual development in parasitic wasps.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guiming Deng ◽  
Fangcheng Bi ◽  
Jing Liu ◽  
Weidi He ◽  
Chunyu Li ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundBanana plant height is an important trait for horticultural practices and semi-dwarf cultivars show better resistance to damages by wind and rain. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling the pseudostem height remain poorly understood. Herein, we studied the molecular changes in the pseudostem of a semi-dwarf banana mutant Aifen No. 1 (Musaspp. Pisang Awak sub-group ABB) as compared to its wild-type dwarf cultivar using a combined transcriptome and metabolome approach.ResultsA total of 127 differentially expressed genes and 48 differentially accumulated metabolites were detected between the mutant and its wild type. Metabolites belonging to amino acid and its derivatives, flavonoids, lignans, coumarins, organic acids, and phenolic acids were up-regulated in the mutant. The transcriptome analysis showed the differential regulation of genes related to the gibberellin pathway, auxin transport, cell elongation, and cell wall modification. Based on the regulation of gibberellin and associated pathway-related genes, we discussed the involvement of gibberellins in pseudostem elongation in the mutant banana. Genes and metabolites associated with cell wall were explored and their involvement in cell extension is discussed.ConclusionsThe results suggest that gibberellins and associated pathways are possibly developing the observed semi-dwarf pseudostem phenotype together with cell elongation and cell wall modification. The findings increase the understanding of the mechanisms underlying banana stem height and provide new clues for further dissection of specific gene functions.


Author(s):  
Guohong Zeng ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Yuxiu Ma ◽  
Qian Pu ◽  
Tian Xiao ◽  
...  

AbstractSaponins are kinds of antifungal compounds produced by Panax notoginseng to resist invasion by pathogens. Ilyonectria mors-panacis G3B was the dominant pathogen inducing root rot of P. notoginseng, and the abilities to detoxify saponins were the key to infect P. notoginseng successfully. To research the molecular mechanisms of detoxifying saponins in I. mors-panacis G3B, we used high-throughput RNA-Seq to identify 557 and 1519 differential expression genes (DEGs) in I. mors-panacis G3B with saponins treatments for 4H (Hours) and 12H (Hours) compared with no saponins treatments, respectively. Among these DEGs, we found 93 genes which were simultaneously highly expressed in I. mors-panacis G3B with saponins treatments for 4H and 12H, they mainly belong to genes encoding transporters, glycoside hydrolases, oxidation–reduction enzymes, transcription factors and so on. In addition, there were 21 putative PHI (Pathogen–Host Interaction) genes out of those 93 up-regulated genes. In this report, we analyzed virulence-associated genes in I. mors-panacis G3B which may be related to detoxifying saponins to infect P. notoginseng successfully. They provided an excellent starting point for in-depth study on pathogenicity of I. mors-panacis G3B and developed appropriate root rot disease management strategies in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2683
Author(s):  
Princess D. Rodriguez ◽  
Hana Paculova ◽  
Sophie Kogut ◽  
Jessica Heath ◽  
Hilde Schjerven ◽  
...  

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) comprise a diverse class of non-protein coding transcripts that regulate critical cellular processes associated with cancer. Advances in RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) have led to the characterization of non-coding RNA expression across different types of human cancers. Through comprehensive RNA-Seq profiling, a growing number of studies demonstrate that ncRNAs, including long non-coding RNA (lncRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNA), play central roles in progenitor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) pathogenesis. Furthermore, due to their central roles in cellular homeostasis and their potential as biomarkers, the study of ncRNAs continues to provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms of B-ALL. This article reviews the ncRNA signatures reported for all B-ALL subtypes, focusing on technological developments in transcriptome profiling and recently discovered examples of ncRNAs with biologic and therapeutic relevance in B-ALL.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7029
Author(s):  
Cai-Yun Xiong ◽  
Qing-You Gong ◽  
Hu Pei ◽  
Chang-Jian Liao ◽  
Rui-Chun Yang ◽  
...  

In maize, the ear shank is a short branch that connects the ear to the stalk. The length of the ear shank mainly affects the transportation of photosynthetic products to the ear, and also influences the dehydration of the grain by adjusting the tightness of the husks. However, the molecular mechanisms of maize shank elongation have rarely been described. It has been reported that the maize ear shank length is a quantitative trait, but its genetic basis is still unclear. In this study, RNA-seq was performed to explore the transcriptional dynamics and determine the key genes involved in maize shank elongation at four different developmental stages. A total of 8145 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, including 729 transcription factors (TFs). Some important genes which participate in shank elongation were detected via function annotation and temporal expression pattern analyses, including genes related to signal transduction hormones (auxin, brassinosteroids, gibberellin, etc.), xyloglucan and xyloglucan xyloglucosyl transferase, and transcription factor families. The results provide insights into the genetic architecture of maize ear shanks and developing new varieties with ideal ear shank lengths, enabling adjustments for mechanized harvesting in the future.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li-Ping Yu ◽  
Ting-Ting Shi ◽  
Yan-Qin Li ◽  
Jian-Kang Mu ◽  
Ya-Qin Yang ◽  
...  

: Mitophagy plays an important role in maintaining mitochondrial quality and cell homeostasis through the degradation of damaged, aged, and dysfunctional mitochondria and misfolded proteins. Many human diseases, particularly neurodegenerative diseases, are related to disorders of mitochondrial phagocytosis. Exploring the regulatory mechanisms of mitophagy is of great significance for revealing the molecular mechanisms underlying the related diseases. Herein, we summarize the major mechanisms of mitophagy, the relationship of mitophagy with human diseases, and the role of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in mitophagy. These discussions enhance our knowledge of mitophagy and its potential therapeutic targets using TCM.


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