Analysis of miRNAs and their target genes associated with mucosal damage caused by transport stress in the mallard duck intestine

PLoS One. 2020 Aug 18;15(8):e0237699. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237699. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Bowel health is an important factor for duck rearing that has been linked to feed uptake and growth and death rates. Because the regulatory networks associated with acute stress-mediated injury in the duck gastrointestinal tract have not clearly elucidated, we aimed to explore potential miRNA-mRNA pairs and their regulatory roles in oxidative stress injury caused by transport stress. Here, 1-day-old mallard ducklings from the same breeder flock were collected and transported for 8 h, whereas the control group was not being transported. Various parameters reflecting oxidative stress and the tissue appearance of the intestine were assessed. The data showed that the plasma T-AOC and SOD concentrations were decreased in the transported ducklings. The intestine of the transported ducklings also displayed significant damage. High-throughput sequencing of the intestine revealed 44 differentially expressed miRNAs and 75 differentially expressed genes, which constituted 344 miRNA-mRNA pairs. KEGG pathway analysis revealed that the metabolic, FoxO signaling, influenza A and TGF-β signaling pathways were mainly involved in the mechanism underlying the induction of intestinal damage induced by simulated transport stress in ducks. A miRNA-mRNA pair, miR-217-5p/CHRDL1, was selected to validate the miRNA-mRNA negative relationship, and the results showed that miR-217-5p could influence CHRDL1 expression. This study provides new useful information for future research on the regulatory network associated with mucosal damage in the duck intestine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animal Husbandry
  • Animals
  • Ducks / physiology*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Intestinal Mucosa / pathology*
  • MicroRNAs / metabolism*
  • Oxidative Stress / genetics*
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • RNA-Seq
  • Signal Transduction / genetics
  • Transportation*

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA, Messenger

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation (grant numbers: 31702157), the Hubei Provincial scientific and technological innovation special project (Grant Numbers 2017ABA140) and China Agriculture Research System (Grant Numbers CARS-42-47) and Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences Younger Top-Notch Talent Program (Grant Numbers Q2018021).