Muscle transcriptome provides the first insight into the dynamics of gene expression with progression of age in sheep

Reena Arora,Pooja Chhabra,Mandeep Kaur,Ashish Kumar,Sonika Ahlawat,Mohamed Nadeem Fairoze,R M Sreesujatha,S S Manjunatha,Ramesh Kumar Vijh,Naveen Kumar Siddaraju,S Sudarshan

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-01848-5

Abstract

The dynamic synergy of genes and pathways in muscles in relation to age affects the muscle characteristics. Investigating the temporal changes in gene expression will help illustrate the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development. Here we report the gene expression changes in skeletal muscles through successive age groups in Bandur, a meat type sheep of India. RNA sequencing data was generated from the longissimus thoracis muscles from four age groups, ranging from lamb to adult. Analysis of 20 highest expressed genes common across the groups revealed muscle protein, phosphorylation, acetylation, metal binding and transport as significant functions. Maximum differentiation was observed after 2.5–3 years on transition from lambs to adult. Transcriptional regulation by the TFAP2 transcription factors, IL-6 signaling and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways were enriched in younger animals. The gene-protein network demarcated key interactive genes involved in muscle development and proliferation that can be used as candidates for future research on improvement of muscle characteristics.

Highlights

The dynamic synergy of genes and pathways in muscles in relation to age affects the muscle characteristics
The genes mainly involved in muscle contraction and muscle fibre composition (ACTA1, ACTN2, ACTN3, ANKRD1, TCAP, NRAP, MYH4, MYH8, TNNI2, TNNC2, MYOZ1, LDB3, TPM1) were abundantly expressed irrespective of age group in our study
This study is an attempt to gain an insight into the dynamics of gene expression with progression of age in sheep skeletal muscles

Summary

Introduction

The dynamic synergy of genes and pathways in muscles in relation to age affects the muscle characteristics. Investigating the temporal changes in gene expression will help illustrate the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development. We report the gene expression changes in skeletal muscles through successive age groups in Bandur, a meat type sheep of India. The genetic mechanisms underlying growth and development of skeletal muscles of sheep have been investigated using generation sequencing techniques[5]. Our previous studies have attempted to understand the regulatory molecular mechanisms underlying the muscle traits in Bandur sheep breed in comparison to the local s heep[12,13]. These studies have identified the genes and pathways that may be associated with the muscling traits. The temporal changes in gene expression will help illustrate the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle development in sheep

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