Expression pattern of CRYAB and CTGF genes in two pig breeds at different altitudes

Abstract

Tibetan pigs are characterized by significant phenotypic differences relative to lowland pigs. Our previous study demonstrated that the genes CRYAB and CTGF were differentially expressed in heart tissues between Tibetan (highland breed) and Yorkshire (lowland breed) pigs, indicating that they might participate in hypoxia adaptation. CRYAB (ɑB-crystallin) and CTGF (connective tissue growth factor) have also been reported to be associated with lung development. However, the expression patterns of CRYAB and CTGF in lung tissues at different altitudes and their genetic characterization are not well understood. In this study, qRT-PCR and western blot of lung tissue revealed higher CRYAB expression levels in highland and middle-highland Tibetan and Yorkshire pigs than in their lowland counterparts. With an increase in altitude, the expression level of CTGF increased in Tibetan pigs, whereas it decreased in Yorkshire pigs. Furthermore, two novel single-nucleotide polymorphism were identified in the 5′ flanking region of CRYAB (g.39644482C>T and g.39644132T>C) and CTGF (g.31671748A>G and g.31671773T>G). The polymorphism may partially contribute to the differences in expression levels between groups at the same altitude. These findings provide novel insights into the high-altitude hypoxia adaptations of Tibetan pigs.

Divergence of Liver Lipidomes in Tibetan and Yorkshire Pigs Living at Different Altitudes

“…This may be due to the fact that at high altitudes the two breeds of pigs show greater differences in adapting to the drastic changes in the external environment. Some differences in gene regulation during adaptation to environmental change have been tentatively identified in previous studies between these two breeds of pigs, particularly in high-altitude environments [ 23 ].…”

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Yorkshire Pig Liver Reveals Its Response to High Altitude

“…At present, most studies on the potential association of Yorkshire pigs with alpine hypoxic environments have focused on the comparison of differences in altitude adaptation with Tibetan pigs. For example, differentially methylated genes associated with hypoxia are lacking in the heart of Yorkshire pigs compared to those in Tibetan pigs; two key genes associated with high-altitude acclimation (CRYAB, crystalline, αB; CTGF, connective tissue growth factor) show low expression in both the heart and lung tissue of Yorkshire pigs. , Notably, the cardiopulmonary tissues themselves are very sensitive to low-oxygen concentrations, so these studies only shed some light on the causes of plateau maladaptation in Yorkshire pigs. However, there is another significant disadvantage in the high-altitude environmentcoldwhich corresponds to the metabolism related to energy supply, and the liver is an important organ for the execution of this physiological process.…”