1
|
Luna-Ramirez RI, Limesand SW, Goyal R, Pendleton AL, Rincón G, Zeng X, Luna-Nevárez G, Reyna-Granados JR, Luna-Nevárez P. Blood Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Functional Pathways Associated with Thermotolerance in Pregnant Ewes Exposed to Environmental Heat Stress. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:1590. [PMID: 37628641 PMCID: PMC10454332 DOI: 10.3390/genes14081590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental heat stress triggers a series of compensatory mechanisms in sheep that are dependent on their genetic regulation of thermotolerance. Our objective was to identify genes and regulatory pathways associated with thermotolerance in ewes exposed to heat stress. We performed next-generation RNA sequencing on blood collected from 16 pregnant ewes, which were grouped as tolerant and non-tolerant to heat stress according to a physiological indicator. Additional samples were collected to measure complete blood count. A total of 358 differentially expressed genes were identified after applying selection criteria. Gene expression analysis detected 46 GO terms and 52 KEGG functional pathways. The top-three signaling pathways were p53, RIG-I-like receptor and FoxO, which suggested gene participation in biological processes such as apoptosis, cell signaling and immune response to external stressors. Network analysis revealed ATM, ISG15, IRF7, MDM4, DHX58 and TGFβR1 as over-expressed genes with high regulatory potential. A co-expression network involving the immune-related genes ISG15, IRF7 and DXH58 was detected in lymphocytes and monocytes, which was consistent with hematological findings. In conclusion, transcriptomic analysis revealed a non-viral immune mechanism involving apoptosis, which is induced by external stressors and appears to play an important role in the molecular regulation of heat stress tolerance in ewes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rosa I. Luna-Ramirez
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Sean W. Limesand
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Ravi Goyal
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Alexander L. Pendleton
- School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | | | - Xi Zeng
- Zoetis Inc., VMRD Genetics R&D, Kalamazoo, MI 49007, USA
| | - Guillermo Luna-Nevárez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Javier R. Reyna-Granados
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| | - Pablo Luna-Nevárez
- Departamento de Ciencias Agronómicas y Veterinarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Ciudad Obregón 85000, Mexico
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Li W, Zeng W, Jin X, Xu H, Fang X, Ma Z, Cao G, Li R, Ma L. High-Altitude Stress Orchestrates mRNA Expression and Alternative Splicing of Ovarian Follicle Development Genes in Tibetan Sheep. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:2812. [PMID: 36290198 PMCID: PMC9597790 DOI: 10.3390/ani12202812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 10/01/2023] Open
Abstract
High-altitude stress threatens the survival rate of Tibetan sheep and reduces their fertility. However, the molecular basis of this phenomenon remains elusive. Here, we used RNA-seq to elucidate the transcriptome dynamics of high-altitude stress in Tibetan sheep ovaries. In total, 104 genes were characterized as high-altitude stress-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). In addition, 36 DEGs contributed to ovarian follicle development, and 28 of them were downregulated under high-altitude stress. In particular, high-altitude stress significantly suppressed the expression of two ovarian lymphatic system marker genes: LYVE1 and ADAMTS-1. Network analysis revealed that luteinizing hormone (LH)/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) signaling-related genes, such as EGR1, FKBP5, DUSP1, and FOS, were central regulators in the DEG network, and these genes were also suppressed under high-altitude stress. As a post-transcriptional regulation mechanism, alternative splicing (AS) is ubiquitous in Tibetan sheep. High-altitude stress induced 917 differentially alternative splicing (DAS) events. High-altitude stress modulated DAS in an AS-type-specific manner: suppressing skipped exon events but increasing retained intron events. C2H2-type zinc finger transcription factors and RNA processing factors were mainly enriched in DAS. These findings revealed high-altitude stress repressed ovarian development by suppressing the gene expression of LH/FSH hormone signaling genes and inducing intron retention of C2H2-type zinc finger transcription factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Li
- Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Weike Zeng
- College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Xiayang Jin
- Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Huiming Xu
- College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Xingyan Fang
- College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
- College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Zhijie Ma
- Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Gangjian Cao
- College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| | - Ruizhe Li
- Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
| | - Liuyin Ma
- College of Forestry, School of Future Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
| |
Collapse
|