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Xi Q, Zhao F, Hu J, Wang J, Liu X, Dang P, Luo Y, Li S. Expression and Variations in EPAS1 Associated with Oxygen Metabolism in Sheep. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13101871. [PMID: 36292756 PMCID: PMC9602176 DOI: 10.3390/genes13101871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Endothelial PAS domain protein 1 gene (EPAS1) is a member of the HIF gene family. This gene encodes a transcription factor subunit that is involved in the induction of oxygen-regulated genes. Several studies have demonstrated that a mutation in EPAS1 could affect oxygen sensing, polycythemia, and hemoglobin level. However, whether EPAS1 mutation affects sheep oxygen metabolism is still unknown. Therefore, we explored the relationship between the variation of EPAS1 and oxygen metabolism in sheep. In this study, variations in ovine EPAS1 exon 15 were investigated in 332 Tibetan sheep and 339 Hu sheep by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis. In addition, we studied the effect of these variations on blood gas in 176 Tibetan sheep and 231 Hu sheep. Finally, the mRNA expression of EPAS1 in six tissues of Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep living at different altitudes (2500 m, 3500 m, and 4500 m) was analyzed by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Four alleles (A, B, C, and D) were detected, and their distributions highly differed between Tibetan sheep and Hu sheep. In Tibetan sheep, B was the dominant allele, and C and D alleles were rare, whereas all four alleles were common in Hu sheep. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified between the four alleles and one of them was non-synonymous (p.F606L). While studying the blood gas levels in Tibetan sheep and Hu sheep, one variant region was found to be associated with an elevated pO2 and sO2, which suggested that variations in EPAS1 are associated with oxygen metabolism in sheep. RT-qPCR results showed that EPAS1 was expressed in the six tissues of Hu sheep and Tibetan sheep at different altitudes. In addition, the expression of EPAS1 in four tissues (heart, liver, spleen, and longissimus dorsi muscle) of Hu sheep was lower than that in Tibetan sheep from three different altitudes, and the expression of EPAS1 was positively correlated with the altitude. These results indicate that the variations and expression of EPAS1 is closely related to oxygen metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiming Xi
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Fangfang Zhao
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Jiang Hu
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Jiqing Wang
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Xiu Liu
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Pengju Dang
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- Gansu Agriculture Technology College, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Yuzhu Luo
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Shaobin Li
- Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Meat Sheep and Meat Cattle Genetic Improvement in Northwest of China, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
- Correspondence:
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Li B, Jia G, Wen D, Zhao X, Zhang J, Xu Q, Zhao X, Jiang N, Liu Z, Wang Y. Rumen microbiota of indigenous and introduced ruminants and their adaptation to the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1027138. [PMID: 36299720 PMCID: PMC9589358 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1027138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The grassland in the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau provide habitat for many indigenous and introduced ruminants which perform important ecological functions that impact the whole Qinghai–Tibetan plateau ecosystem. These indigenous Tibetan ruminants have evolved several adaptive traits to withstand the severe environmental conditions, especially cold, low oxygen partial pressure, high altitude, strong UV radiation, and poor forage availability on the alpine rangelands. Despite the challenges to husbandry associated with the need for enhanced adaptation, several domesticated ruminants have also been successfully introduced to the alpine pasture regions to survive in the harsh environment. For ruminants, these challenging conditions affect not only the host, but also their commensal microbiota, especially the diversity and composition of the rumen microbiota; multiple studies have described tripartite interactions among host-environment-rumen microbiota. Thus, there are significant benefits to understanding the role of rumen microbiota in the indigenous and introduced ruminants of the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau, which has co-evolved with the host to ensure the availability of specific metabolic functions required for host survival, health, growth, and development. In this report, we systemically reviewed the dynamics of rumen microbiota in both indigenous and introduced ruminants (including gut microbiota of wild ruminants) as well as their structure, functions, and interactions with changing environmental conditions, especially low food availability, that enable survival at high altitudes. We summarized that three predominant driving factors including increased VFA production, enhanced fiber degradation, and lower methane production as indicators of higher efficiency energy harvest and nutrient utilization by microbiota that can sustain the host during nutrient deficit. These cumulative studies suggested alteration of rumen microbiota structure and functional taxa with genes that encode cellulolytic enzymes to potentially enhance nutrient and energy harvesting in response to low quality and quantity forage and cold environment. Future progress toward understanding ruminant adaptation to high altitudes will require the integration of phenotypic data with multi-omics analyses to identify host-microbiota co-evolutionary adaptations enabling survival on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Li
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China
- Agricultural College, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Gaobin Jia
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China
- Colleges of Life Science and Technology, Dalian University, Dalian Economic Technological Development Zone, Dalian, China
| | - Dongxu Wen
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China
| | - Xiuxin Zhao
- Agricultural College, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Junxing Zhang
- Agricultural College, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
| | - Qing Xu
- Institute of Life Sciences and Bio-Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
| | - Xialing Zhao
- Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa, China
| | - Nan Jiang
- Colleges of Life Science and Technology, Dalian University, Dalian Economic Technological Development Zone, Dalian, China
| | - Zhenjiang Liu
- National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, School of Life Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China
| | - Yachun Wang
- Agricultural College, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China
- Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture of China, National Engineering Laboratory of Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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Molecular Characterization, Expression Profiles of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 Genes and Lack of Association with Litter Size in Tibetan Sheep. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12172232. [PMID: 36077952 PMCID: PMC9455033 DOI: 10.3390/ani12172232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 belonging to the transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) superfamily are indispensable for oocyte formation and development, ovarian organogenesis and folliculogenesis. However, only a few studies have investigated the characteristics of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 in Tibetan sheep and the effect of their polymorphism on litter size. In this study, we examined the expression of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 in 13 tissues of Tibetan sheep by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Further, cDNA of these genes was cloned, sequenced and subjected to bioinformatics analysis. DNA sequencing was also used to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). However, iM-LDRTM technology was used for SNP genotyping. Associations between polymorphisms and litter size were analyzed using data from genotyping of 433 Tibetan sheep. The results showed that the expression of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 genes was ubiquitous in the tissues of Tibetan sheep, such as the ovary, uterus and oviduct, hypothalamus, hypophysis, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, rumen, duodenum and longissimus dorsi. However, the expression was unbalanced and upregulated in the spleen, lung, ovary and uterus and downregulated in the longissimus dorsi. The bioinformatics analysis showed that SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 in Tibetan sheep encoded proteins of 533, 465 and 427 amino acids, respectively. Sequence homology analysis of the three proteins among other animals showed that the sequences of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 of Tibetan sheep were similar to those in sheep, yak, cattle, dog, human, pig, chimpanzee, rhesus monkey and house mouse. Two synonymous mutations, g.51537A>G and g.319C>T, were detected in SMAD5 and SMAD7, respectively. The associations of these SNPs and litter size were determined, and it was found that both g.51537A>G and g.319C>T have no significant effect on the litter size of Tibetan sheep. The results provided novel insights into the molecular characterization, expression profiles and polymorphisms of SMAD4, SMAD5 and SMAD7 in Tibetan sheep, but our results do not support associations between these genes and the litter size of Tibetan sheep.
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