Transcriptomic analysis reveals the molecular mechanisms of rumen wall morphological and functional development induced by different solid diet introduction in a lamb model

作者：Daming Sun, Yuyang Yin, Changzheng Guo, Lixiang Liu, Shengyong Mao, Weiyun Zhu, Junhua Liu · 发表于：Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology/Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1186/s40104-021-00556-4 · 被引用次数：46 · 研究领域：Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology、Reproductive Physiology in Livestock、Effects of Environmental Stressors on Livestock

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of solid diet introduction initiating the cellular growth and maturation of rumen tissues and characterize the shared and unique biological processes upon different solid diet regimes. METHODS: Twenty-four Hu lambs were randomly allocated to three groups fed following diets: goat milk powder only (M, n = 8), goat milk powder + alfalfa hay (MH, n = 8), and goat milk powder + concentrate starter (MC, n = 8). At 42 days of age, the lambs were slaughtered. Ruminal fluid sample was collected for analysis of concentration of volatile fatty acid (VFA) and microbial crude protein (MCP). The sample of the rumen wall from the ventral sac was collected for analysis of rumen papilla morphology and transcriptomics. RESULTS: Compared with the M group, MH and MC group had a higher concentration of VFA, MCP, rumen weight, and rumen papilla area. The transcriptomic results of rumen wall showed that there were 312 shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between in "MH vs. M" and "MC vs. M", and 232 or 796 unique DEGs observed in "MH vs. M" or "MC vs. M", respectively. The shared DEGs were most enriched in VFA absorption and metabolism, such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) signaling pathway, butanoate metabolism, and synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies. Additionally, a weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified M16 (2,052 genes) and M18 (579 genes) modules were positively correlated ...