Hair Follicle Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Genes That Regulate Wool Fiber Diameter in Angora Rabbits

Biology (Basel). 2023 Mar 14;12(3):445. doi: 10.3390/biology12030445.

Abstract

Wool fiber diameter (WFD) is an important index of wool traits and the main determinant of wool quality and value. However, the genetic determinants of fiber diameter have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, coarse and fine wool of Wan strain Angora rabbits and their hair follicle traits were characterized. The results indicated significant differences in the diameters of wool fibers and their hair follicles. The RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technique was used to identify differences in gene expression in hair follicles between coarse and fine wool. In total, 2574 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found between the two hair follicle groups. Transcription factors, keratin-associated protein (KAP) and keratin (KRT) families, and ECM-related genes may control the structure of fine fibers in rabbits. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed that skin development, epidermal cell and keratinocyte differentiation, epithelium development, and Notch and ribosome signaling pathways were significantly enriched, respectively. GSEA further filtered six important pathways and related core genes. PPI analysis also mined functional DEGs associated with hair structure, including LEF1, FZD3, SMAD3, ITGB6, and BMP4. Our findings provide valuable information for researching the molecular mechanisms regulating wool fiber and could facilitate enhanced selection of super-fine wool rabbits through gene-assisted selection in the future.

Keywords: GSEA; PPI; RNA-Seq; hair follicles; hair structure; wool fiber diameter.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by Discipline Leading Talent Plan of Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences (LJRC-202107), the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-43-A-4), the Provincial Key R&D Program of Anhui Province (202104a06020032), Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Product Safety Engineering Project (No. XMT2022-8).