Project description:With the increasing demand for donkey production, there has been a growing focus on the breeding of donkeys. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying spermatogenesis and maturation in donkeys during reproduction remains limited.In this study, we constructed a single-cell RNA dataset to study the single-cell landscape of donkey spermatogenesis and maturation. This method allows us to analyze the cell composition in testicular and epididymal tissue, providing insights into the changes that occur during donkey spermatogenesis and maturation. In addition, different gene expression signatures associated with various spermatogenic cell types were found
Project description:Donkey milk (DM) has been considered a valuable alternative to human and bovine coun-terparts as well as to infant formulas. Milk extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been proposed to influence key biological processes. The purpose of this study is to provide a compre-hensive characterization of the protein composition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) by ex-tending quantitative proteomic comparisons to EVs derived from donkey colostrum (DC) and mature donkey milk (MDM). The EVs were isolated from DC and MDM samples, characterized, and subjected to proteomic analysis using the tandem mass tag-based quantitative approach
Project description:We investigated the biological effects of ZEA exposure on donkey granulosa cells by using RNA-seq analysis. ZEA at 10 and 30 μM were administered to granulosa cells within 72 hours of in vitro culture. ZEA at 10 μM significantly altered the tumorigenesis associated genes in donkey granulosa cells. Exposure to 10 and 30 μM ZEA treatment significantly reduced mRNA expression of PTEN, TGFβ, ATM, and CDK2 genes, particularly, the ZEA treatment significantly increased the expression of PI3K and AKT genes. Furthermore, immunofluorescence, RT-qPCR, and Western blot analysis verified the gene expression of ZEA-exposed granulosa cells. Collectively, these results demonstrated the deleterious effect of ZEA exposure on the induction of ovarian cancer related genes via the PTEN/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in donkey granulosa cells in vitro.
Project description:In this study, 3,869 donkey skeletal muscle lncRNAs were identified using RNA-Seq along with a stringent screening procedure in the longissimus dorsi (LD) and gluteal (G) muscles. These lncRNAs share many characteristics with other mammalian lncRNAs, such as shorter open reading frames (ORFs) and lower expression levels than mRNAs. Furthermore, in pairwise comparisons between libraries of the same stage for two genetic types of male Dezhou donkey, 73 differentially expressed lncRNAs were common to all muscle tissues.
Project description:We examined the growth curve, cell cycle, apoptosis and glycolysis of donkey, horse and mule adult fibroblasts (DAFs, HAFs and MAFs), which indicated there are differences in cell proliferation and metabolism. We also derived mule, donkey and horse iPSCs from their respective adult fibroblasts by piggyBac transposition, and we found the induced reprogramming efficiency of mule iPSCs was significantly higher than donkey and horse iPSCs (78.3% vs 58.2% vs 47.9%). miPSCs, diPSCs and hiPSCs all expressed high levels of key endogenous pluripotency genes such as Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog, propagated robustly in single cell passaging and miPSCs were found to proliferated significantly faster than diPSCs and hiPSCs. Furthermore, miPSCs/MAFs clustered closer to diPSCs/DAFs than to hiPSCs/HAFs by RNA-seq. The establishment of miPSCs provide unique experimental materials for further investigation of understanding the “heterosis” and reproductive isolation during speciation.
Project description:The skin barrier is vital for protection against environmental threats including insults caused by skin-resident microbes. Dysregulation of this barrier is a hallmark of atopic dermatitis (AD) and ichthyosis, with variable consequences for host immune control of colonizing commensals and opportunistic pathogens. While Malassezia is the most abundant commensal fungus of the skin, little is known about the host control of this fungus in inflammatory skin diseases. Here we show that in barrier-impaired skin, Malassezia acquires enhanced fitness and overt growth properties. By using four distinct and complementary murine models of atopic dermatitis and ichthyosis we provide evidence that structural and metabolic changes in the dysfunctional epidermal barrier environment provide increased accessibility and an altered lipid profile, to which the lipid-dependent yeast adapts for enhanced nutrient assimilation. These findings reveal fundamental insights into the implication of the mycobiota in the pathogenesis of common skin barrier disorders.
Project description:Trichophyton rubrum is a pathogenic fungus infecting human skin, hairs and nails. These substrates are low in most nutrients required for fungal growth and consequently are colonized only by very few fungal species. Especially, concentration of trace elements is low and a limiting factor for fungal growth. T. rubrum is a highly specialist fungus and adapted to this environment. By in-vitro experiments, we analyzed the influence of trace-elements on mRNA expression. We measured gene expression by RNAseq of two T. rubrum strains, STRB008 and STRB012, in three different cultivation condition, each in 6 replications. Keratin medium, without sugar supply, was used as basic medium. In the second condition, we added trace-elements to the keratin medium. In the third condition, we added glucose. We point to the evolutionary adaption of the fungus to the human skin. T. rubrum has a sophisticated system for the digestion and utilization of human skin protein and a relative low demand for trace-elements.