从头组装豚鹿血液转录组揭示雌雄基因表达差异

De novo Assembly Transcriptome of Blood in Axis porcinus Reveals Gender Differential Expression Genes

豚鹿Axis porcinus是国家一级重点保护野生动物,为理解其基因表达上的基本特征,本研究采用RNA-seq技术对16个豚鹿血液样本进行了测序和从头组装,一共得到615548条unigenes,Contig N50为803 bp。将组装的转录本进行同源序列比对注释,发现豚鹿血液在信号转导、抗病毒感染和免疫系统等通路上表达的基因最丰富。通过比较雌雄豚鹿的差异表达基因(DEGs),鉴定了1781个在雄性中显著上调和14个显著下调的性别差异表达基因,雄性的高表达DEGs远多于雌性,且主要富集在精子形成、睾丸功能和自身免疫相关通路,暗示雌雄豚鹿在生殖发育和自身免疫方面存在较大差异。部分可能与鹿角生长相关的基因(Rela、ADAMTS2、OLIG1、Snai1、PTH1R、TGFBI、MMP9)均在雄性豚鹿中显著高表达。本研究为丰富豚鹿转录表达提供了基础数据,为进一步深入挖掘豚鹿功能基因、分子标记开发以及鹿角形成机制提供了参考。

Axis porcinus is a classⅠnationally key protected animal.In order to understand the basic characteristics of gene transcription and expression of Axis porcinus,16 blood of A.porcinus samples were sequenced and de novo assembled by RNA-seq technology in this study.A total of 615548 unigenes were obtained,and the Contig N50 was 803 bp.The as⁃sembled transcripts were annotated by homologous sequences alignment,we found that the genes expressed in the signal transduction,antiviral infection and immune system pathways were the most abundant in A.porcinus blood.By comparing the differentially expressed genes of males and females,1781 gender differential expression genes(DEGs)were identified that were significantly up-regulated in males and 14 were significantly down-regulated in males.Males highly expressed DEGs much more than females,and they were mainly enriched in spermatogenesis,testicular function and autoimmunityrelated pathways,which suggest that male and female A.porcinus have great differences in reproductive development and autoimmunity.In addition,we also identified some genes(Rela,ADAMTS2,OLIG1,Snai1,PTH1R,TGFBI,MMP9)that may be related to antler growth,all of which were significantly highly expressed in male A.porcinus.Our research pro⁃vides basic data for enriching the transcriptional expression of A.porcinus,and provides a reference for further research on functional genes,molecular marker development and antler formation mechanism of A.porcinus.