Gene expression profiles during postnatal development of the liver and pancreas in giant pandas

Abstract

Giant pandas are unique Carnivora with a strict bamboo diet. To investigate the molecular mechanism of giant panda nutrient metabolism from newborn to adult, the gene expression profiles of giant panda liver and pancreas tissues collected from three important feeding stages were investigated using RNA-seq. We found a total of 3,211 hepatic and 3,343 pancreatic differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from three comparisons between suckling and no feeding, adult and no feeding, and adult and suckling groups. Few differences in gene-expression profiles were exhibited between no feeding and suckling groups in both tissues. GO and KEGG analyses were performed to further understand the biological functions of the DEGs. In both the liver and pancreas, genes related mainly to cell cycle processes were highly up-regulated in newborn samples whereas genes related to metabolism and immunity were up-regulated in adult giant pandas. The high expression of metabolism-related genes in adult samples probably helps to fulfill the metabolic function requirements of the liver and pancreas. In contrast, several vital genes involved in cholesterol metabolism and protein digestion and absorption were over-expressed in newborn samples. This may indicate the importance of cholesterol metabolism and protein digestion and absorption processes in giant panda infancy.

Identification and expression analysis of lncRNA in seven organs of Rhinopithecus roxellana

“…These tissue samples were immediately stored in a liquid nitrogen jar for RNA sequencing. Researches of giant panda also sample from accidental death individual (Peng et al 2018;Ma et al 2020). However, it is worth to note that the gene expression profiles of these samples may not totally reflect those from healthy GSMs.…”

Adaptive Expression and ncRNA Regulation of Genes Related to Digestion and Metabolism in Stomach of Red Pandas during Suckling and Adult Periods

“…The energy-rich nutrient carbohydrate is a valuable calorie resource derived from low-fat and low-protein bamboo for adult red pandas and giant pandas, meeting their daily energy needs [ 64 , 65 , 66 ]. A previous study has demonstrated that high expression levels of genes related to carbohydrate metabolism in the liver of adult giant pandas enable them to effectively utilize carbohydrates from bamboo [ 9 ]. SLC5A4 can activate glucose sodium transporter activity and proton transmembrane transporter activity, thereby participating in carbohydrate utilization [ 67 , 68 ].…”

“…Mammals undergo a dietary shift from birth to adulthood: they consume breast milk during the suckling period, while their dietary habits become diverse in adulthood, including carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous diets. In order to meet nutrient utilization and energy needs for mammals at different stages of growth and development, the functions of digestive organs and expression levels of genes related to digestion and metabolism must adaptively change [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”

“…Their morphology, genome, gut microbiota, and gene expression patterns exhibit many convergent evolutionary characteristics [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Research on giant pandas showed that the high expression levels of genes related to cholesterol metabolism and protein digestion and absorption in their early stages of development may help meet their high energy needs for rapid growth and development, while the high expression levels of genes related to metabolism of carbohydrate, amino acid, and protein during the adult period may indicate their high metabolic levels [ 9 ]. Further research is necessary to determine whether similar expression changes occur in digestion- and metabolism-related genes in red pandas from their infancy to adulthood.…”

Transcriptome sequencing of black and white hair follicles in the giant panda

“…genetic diversity despite their identical appearance (Li et al 2010;Zhao et al 2013;He et al 2020). However, due to the rarity of samples from this species, most experiments are limited to samples collected from dead bodies or the analysis of metabolites in specimens such as blood, urine, and feces to study the adaptability and genetic diversity of giant pandas (Li et al 2020;Ma et al 2020;Wu et al 2020). Because is difficult to collect tissue samples from live pandas, the hair color formation mechanism during the development of giant pandas is poorly understood.…”