Abstract
Heat stress has a severe effect on animal health and can reduce the productivity and reproductive efficiency; it is therefore necessary to explore the molecular mechanism involved in heat stress response, which is helpful for the cultivation of an animal breed with resistance to heat stress. However, little research about heat stress-responsive molecular analysis has been reported in sheep. Therefore, in this study, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to investigate the transcriptome profiling in the liver of Hu sheep with and without heat stress. In total, we detected 520 and 22 differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs, respectively. The differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly associated with metabolic processes, the regulation of biosynthetic processes, and the regulation of glucocorticoid; additionally, they were significantly enriched in the heat stress related pathways, including the carbon metabolism, the PPAR signaling pathway, and vitamin digestion and absorption. The co-located differentially expressed lncRNA Lnc_001782 might positively influence the expression of the corresponding genes APOA4 and APOA5, exerting co-regulative effects on the liver function. Thus, we made the hypothesis that Lnc_001782, APOA4 and APOA5 might function synergistically to regulate the anti-heat stress ability in Hu sheep. This study provides a catalog of Hu sheep liver mRNAs and lncRNAs, and will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying heat stress responses.
Highlights
The development of the sheep industry is influenced by a number of factors, including the breeding of different varieties, the selection of the breeding mode, the influence of the climate and environment, and the heat stress, all of which have an important influence on sheep husbandry
In this study, we performed transcriptome sequencing of the liver of Hu sheep with and without heat stress and analyzed the differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs to clarify their roles in heat stress, which would be helpful for providing a valuable catalog of functional mRNAs and lncRNAs associated with heat stress in Hu sheep
The heat produced by non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) for β-oxidation was higher than that associated with carbohydrate metabolism, and dairy cows metabolized carbohydrates preferentially to supply energy and reduce their own metabolic heat production
Summary
The development of the sheep industry is influenced by a number of factors, including the breeding of different varieties, the selection of the breeding mode, the influence of the climate and environment, and the heat stress, all of which have an important influence on sheep husbandry. Heat stress has a severe effect on the health of animals and compromises the immune function. It can reduce the productivity and reproductive efficiency of livestock [2], and may eventually lead to multiple organ failure and death [3]. The effects of heat stress are evident in the feed consumption, production efficiency in terms of milk yield or weight gain per unit of feed energy, growth rate, egg production, and reproductive efficiency [4]. Heat stress can cause a decrease in the birth weight of sheep [5,6], and lead to an increase in the rectal temperature and respiratory rate, as well as a decrease in the body weight, average daily gain, and growth rate [7].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
