Blood Transcriptome Analysis reveals Age-associated changes in Expression Profile of Immune-Related Gene in Golden snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Abstract

Background: Golden snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) are endangered species of monkeys found in China. In this study, we provided the blood transcriptome sequences of golden snub-nosed monkeys obtained using RNA-Seq technology. The genomic annotation of these monkeys was useful to identify the polymorphisms and subpopulations, in order to understand age-related changes of immune system. This data may provide a valuable resource for further genetic and genomic research of golden snub-nosed monkeys.Results: 57.31 Gb high-quality sequencing data were obtained. The clean data of each sample were >5 Gb, and 86.17% to 94.48% of the reads of each sample could be compared to reference genome of snub-nosed monkey. After assembly, we obtained 24,992 genes, including 3,917 new genes. Many genes were up-regulated or down-regulated with age. Compared to the young group, there were 76 differential genes in adult group of R. r. roxellana, including 68 up-regulated and 8 down-regulated genes. While, compared with the adult group, there were 58 differential genes, including 25 up-regulated genes and 23 down-regulated genes in the old group of R. r. roxellana. In R. r. qinlingensis, compared with the young group, 117 differential genes were obtained, including 34 up-regulated and 83 down-regulated genes. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that the up-regulated genes were mainly related to innate immune response and T-cell activity, while the down-regulated genes were mainly involved in B-cell activity, suggesting that immune competence of adult group increased gradually compared to young group. However, the adaptive immune function declined gradually in the old group.Conclusions: Our findings can contribute to understanding of molecular mechanisms of age-related changes of immune system, which will provide a foundation for future studies of snub-nosed monkey.