Muscle Transcriptome Analysis of Mink at Different Growth Stages Using RNA-Seq

• Published in: Biology (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2024-05, Vol.13 (5), p.283
• Main Authors: Rong, Min, Xing, Xiumei, Zhang, Ranran
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Animals; Cell cycle; Developmental stages; Down-regulation; Embryogenesis; Fibroblast growth factor 2; Fibroblast growth factor 6; Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2; Fibroblast growth factors; Gene expression; Genes; Genomes; Genomics; Growth; Growth factors; Insulin resistance; Insulin-like growth factor II; Insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 6; mink; muscle development; p53 Protein; RNA; RNA sequencing; Signal transduction; Skeletal muscle; Small intestine; Software; Transcriptomes; Transcriptomics
• ISSN: 2079-7737; 2079-7737
• DOI: 10.3390/biology13050283

Mink is a kind of small and precious fur animal resource. In this study, we employed transcriptomics technology to analyze the gene expression profile of mink pectoral muscle tissue, thereby elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying mink growth and development. Consequently, a total of 25,954 gene expression profiles were acquired throughout the growth and development stages of mink at 45, 90, and 120 days. Among these profiles, 2607 genes exhibited significant differential expression (|log2(fold change)| ≥ 2 and _adj < 0.05). GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the differentially expressed genes were primarily associated with the mitotic cell cycle process, response to growth factors, muscle organ development, and insulin resistance. Furthermore, GSEA enrichment analysis demonstrated a significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes in the p53 signaling pathway at 45 days of age. Subsequent analysis revealed that genes associated with embryonic development (e.g., , , ), cell cycle regulation (e.g., , , , ), and the FGF family (e.g., , , ) were all found to be upregulated at 45 days of age in mink, which suggested a potential role for these genes in governing early growth and developmental processes. Conversely, genes associated with skeletal muscle development ( , , , , ), a negative regulator of the cell cycle gene ( ), and were found to be up-regulated at 90 days of age, suggesting their potential involvement in the rapid growth of mink. In summary, our experimental data provide robust support for elucidating the regulatory mechanisms underlying the growth and development of mink.