Transcriptome analysis to identify candidate genes related to mammary gland development of Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

Huaibing Yao; Xiaorui Liang; Zhihua Dou; Zhongkai Zhao; Wanpeng Ma; Zelin Hao; Hui Yan; Yuzhuo Wang; Zhuangyuan Wu; Gangliang Chen; Jie Yang

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1196950

Transcriptome analysis to identify candidate genes related to mammary gland development of Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Jun 5:10:1196950. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1196950. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Huaibing Yao^{1

2}, Xiaorui Liang^{1

2}, Zhihua Dou^{1

2}, Zhongkai Zhao^{1

2}, Wanpeng Ma³, Zelin Hao^{1

2}, Hui Yan^{1

2}, Yuzhuo Wang⁴, Zhuangyuan Wu⁴, Gangliang Chen^{2

5}, Jie Yang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Ürümqi, China.
² Xinjiang Camel Industry Engineering Technology Research Center, Ürümqi, China.
³ College of Veterinary Medicine, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, China.
⁴ Xinjiang Altai Regional Animal Husbandry Veterinary Station, Altay, China.
⁵ Bactrian Camel Academy of Xinjiang, Wangyuan Camel Milk Limited Company, Altay, China.

Abstract

Introduction: The demand for camel milk, which has unique therapeutic properties, is increasing. The mammary gland is the organ in mammals responsible for the production and quality of milk. However, few studies have investigated the genes or pathways related to mammary gland growth and development in Bactrian camels. This study aimed to compare the morphological changes in mammary gland tissue and transcriptome expression profiles between young and adult female Bactrian camels and to explore the potential candidate genes and signaling pathways related to mammary gland development.

Methods: Three 2 years-old female camels and three 5 years-old adult female camels were maintained in the same environment. The parenchyma of the mammary gland tissue was sampled from the camels using percutaneous needle biopsy. Morphological changes were observed using hematoxylin-eosin staining. High-throughput RNA sequencing was performed using the Illumina HiSeq platform to analyze changes in the transcriptome between young and adult camels. Functional enrichment, pathway enrichment, and protein-protein interaction networks were also analyzed. Gene expression was verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Results: Histomorphological analysis showed that the mammary ducts and mammary epithelial cells in adult female camels were greatly developed and differentiated from those in young camels. Transcriptome analysis showed that 2,851 differentially expressed genes were obtained in the adult camel group compared to the young camel group, of which 1,420 were upregulated, 1,431 were downregulated, and 2,419 encoded proteins. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the upregulated genes were significantly enriched for 24 pathways, including the Hedgehog signaling pathway which is closely related to mammary gland development. The downregulated genes were significantly enriched for seven pathways, among these the Wnt signaling pathway was significantly related to mammary gland development. The protein-protein interaction network sorted the nodes according to the degree of gene interaction and identified nine candidate genes: PRKAB2, PRKAG3, PLCB4, BTRC, GLI1, WIF1, DKK2, FZD3, and WNT4. The expression of fifteen genes randomly detected by qRT-PCR showed results consistent with those of the transcriptome analysis.

Discussion: Preliminary findings indicate that the Hedgehog, Wnt, oxytocin, insulin, and steroid biosynthesis signaling pathways have important effects on mammary gland development in dairy camels. Given the importance of these pathways and the interconnections of the involved genes, the genes in these pathways should be considered potential candidate genes. This study provides a theoretical basis for elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with mammary gland development and milk production in Bactrian camels.

Keywords: Bactrian camel; development; differentially expressed gene; mammary gland; transcriptome sequencing.