Project description:The Chinese forest musk deer (FMD; Moschus berezovskii) is an endangered artiodactyl mammal. Musk secreted by the musk gland of male FMD has extremely high economic and medicinal value. At present, little is known about the development of musk glands and the molecular mechanism of musk secretion. In the present research, using snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq association analysis performed on musk glands of forest musk deer, coupled with several bioinformatics analyses, the dynamic transcriptional cell atlas of musk gland development was revealed and the genes and transcription factors affecting musk secretion were determined. Based on uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) analysis, we identified 12 cell types from musk glands, including two different acinar cells (clusters 0 and 10). In addition, the expression of core target genes and core transcription factors was verified by fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Combined with weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we obtained a deeper biological understanding of the relationship between core transcription factors, differentially expressed genes and musk secretion related pathways. This study lays a foundation for improving musk yield and meeting market demand. In the meantime, it also contributes to reducing the hunting and poaching of wild forest musk deer, protecting forest musk deer resources and maintaining ecological balance.
Project description:ARDS-mediated lung transcriptome alterations were identified in forest musk deer. Moreover, multiple transcripts/genes involved in lung development and lung defense responses to bacteria/viruses/fungi in ARDS were filtered out in forest musk deer.
Project description:Pneumonia can seriously threaten the life of forest musk deer (an endangered species). To gain a comprehensive understanding of pneumonia pathogenesis in forest musk deer, iTRAQ-based proteomics analysis was performed in diseased (Phe group) and normal (Ctrl group) lung tissues of forest musk deer that died of pneumonia. Results showed that 355 proteins were differentially expressed (fold change ≥ 1.2 and Q < 0.05) in Phe vs Ctrl experiments. GO/KEGG annotation and enrichment analyses showed that dysregulated proteins might play vital roles in bacterial infection and immunity. Given the close association of bacterial infection and pneumonia, 32 dysregulated proteins related to Staphylococcus aureus infection, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, and pathogenic Escherichia coli infection were screened out. Among these 32 proteins, 13 proteins were mapped to the bovine genome. Given the close phylogenetic relationships of forest musk deer and bovine, the protein-protein interaction networks of the above-ment
Project description:Exposure to high-dose radiation causes life-threatening serious intestinal damage. Histological analysis is the most accurate method for judging the extent of intestinal damage after death. However, it is difficult to predict the extent of intestinal damage to body samples. Here we focused on extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) released from cells and investigated miRNA species that increased or decreased in serum and feces using a radiation-induced intestinal injury mouse model. A peak of small RNA of 25–200 nucleotides was detected in mouse serum and feces 72 h after radiation exposure, and miRNA presence in serum and feces was inferred. MiRNAs expressed in the small intestine and were increased by more than 2.0-fold in serum or feces following a 10 Gy radiation exposure were detected by microarray analysis and were 4 in serum and 19 in feces. In this study, miR-375-3p, detected in serum and feces, was identified as the strongest candidate for a high-dose radiation biomarker in serum and/or feces using a radiation-induced intestinal injury model.