The genome variation and developmental transcriptome maps reveal genetic differentiation of skeletal muscle in pigs

PLoS Genet. 2021 Nov 15;17(11):e1009910. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009910. eCollection 2021 Nov.

Abstract

Natural and artificial directional selections have resulted in significantly genetic and phenotypic differences across breeds in domestic animals. However, the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle diversity remains largely unknown. Here, we conducted transcriptome profiling of skeletal muscle across 27 time points, and performed whole-genome re-sequencing in Landrace (lean-type) and Tongcheng (obese-type) pigs. The transcription activity decreased with development, and the high-resolution transcriptome precisely captured the characterizations of skeletal muscle with distinct biological events in four developmental phases: Embryonic, Fetal, Neonatal, and Adult. A divergence in the developmental timing and asynchronous development between the two breeds was observed; Landrace showed a developmental lag and stronger abilities of myoblast proliferation and cell migration, whereas Tongcheng had higher ATP synthase activity in postnatal periods. The miR-24-3p driven network targeting insulin signaling pathway regulated glucose metabolism. Notably, integrated analysis suggested SATB2 and XLOC_036765 contributed to skeletal muscle diversity via regulating the myoblast migration and proliferation, respectively. Overall, our results provide insights into the molecular regulation of skeletal muscle development and diversity in mammals.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics
  • Cell Movement / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / genetics
  • Genetic Drift
  • Genome / genetics
  • Matrix Attachment Region Binding Proteins / genetics*
  • MicroRNAs / genetics*
  • Muscle Development / genetics
  • Muscle, Skeletal / growth & development*
  • Muscle, Skeletal / metabolism
  • Myoblasts / metabolism
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics*
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / metabolism
  • Swine / embryology*
  • Swine / genetics
  • Swine / metabolism
  • Transcriptome / genetics*

Substances

  • MIRN24 microRNA, human
  • Matrix Attachment Region Binding Proteins
  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA, Long Noncoding

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31830090 to Z.T., 31902133 to Y.Y.), the Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province (2019B1515120059 to Z.T.), the Key R&D Programmes of Guangdong Province (2018B020203003 to Z.T.) and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (CAAS-ZDRW202006 to Z.T.). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.