Comparative Transcriptomics and Methylomics Reveal Adaptive Responses of Digestive and Metabolic Genes to Dietary Shift in Giant and Red Pandas.

ABSTRACT: Both the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and red panda (Ailurus fulgens) belong to the order Carnivora, but have changed their dietary habits to eating bamboo exclusively. The convergent evolution characteristics of their morphology, genome and gut flora have been found in the two pandas. However, the research on the convergent adaptation of their digestion and metabolism to the bamboo diet, mediated by the dietary shift of the two pandas at the gene-expression and epigenetic regulation levels, is still lacking. We therefore used RNA sequencing among five species (two pandas and three non-herbivore mammals) and bisulfite sequencing among three species (two pandas and a carnivore ferret) to sequence key digestion and metabolism tissues (stomach and small intestine). Our r

SUBMITTER: Li L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9407821 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature