PurposeTo screen the key genes regulating abdominal fat (AF) of large Diqing Tibetan pigs (TPs) at different growth stages and analyze their regulatory network.
MethodA total of 36 TPs with the same parity, similar birth date and body weight were selected and randomly divided into three groups for fattening experiments under the same condition. They were slaughtered when their body weight was 40 kg, 80 kg, and 120 kg, respectively. AF tissue of three pigs in each group was collected for transcriptome sequencing. The sequencing data were analysed by short-time series expression miner (STEM) analysis, functional enrichment analysis and interaction network analysis.
ResultA total of 1 517, 486 and 1 752 genes were screened at 40 kg vs 80 kg stage, 80 kg vs 120 kg stage and 40 kg vs 120 kg stage, respectively. STEM trend analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that the genes of module 4 and module 1 were significantly down-regulated at first and then basically unchanged, the genes of module 15, module 12 and module 11 were significantly up-regulated with the increase of body weight, and the genes of module 0 were significantly down-regulated with the increase of body weight. WNT10B, C5AR2 and CPT1B were located at the core of gene interaction network constructed by genes of module 4 and module 1. PLA2G7, WWTR1, SPP1, SERPINE1, and PTPN11 were located at the core of gene interaction network constructed by genes of module 15, module 12, and module 11. ADIPOQ, CH25H, and IL10 were located at the core of gene interaction network constructed by genes of module 0. The qPCR verification results of 11 differential genes including WNT10B and CPT1B were consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results.
ConclusionA total of 11 core genes, including WNT10B and PTPN11 participated in the regulation of AF metabolism in TPs in a cooperative manner. The results can provide a reference for the genetic improvement of TPs.
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