Comparative Investigation of Coarse and Fine Wool Sheep Skin Indicates the Early Regulators for Skin and Wool Diversity.

Comparative Investigation of Coarse and Fine Wool Sheep Skin Indicates the Early Regulators for Skin and Wool Diversity.
Gene. 2020 Jul 21;:144968
Authors: Li S, Chen W, Zheng X, Liu Z, Yang G, Hu X, Mou C
Abstract
The hair follicle is an excellent mini-system illustrating the mechanisms governing organogenesis and regeneration. Although the general mechanisms modulating skin and hair follicle development are widely studied in mouse and chicken models, the delicate network regulating skin and hair diversity remains largely unclear. Sheep is an additional model to address the various wool characteristics observed in nature. The coarse and fine wool sheep with diverse fibers were examined to show differences in the primary wool follicle size and skin thickness. The molecular dynamics in skin staged at the primary wool follicle induction between two sheep lines were investigated by RNA-sequencing analyses to generate 1994 differentially expressed genes revealing marker genes for epithelium (6 genes), dermal condensate (38 genes) and dermal fibroblast (58 genes) highly correlated with skin and wool follicle morphological differences. The DEGs were enriched in GO terms represented by epithelial cell migration and differentiation, regulation of hair follicle development and ectodermal placode formation, and KEGG pathways typified by WNT and Hedgehog signaling pathways governing the differences of skin structure. The qPCR detection of 9 gen...

Source: Gene - July 20, 2020 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Li S, Chen W, Zheng X, Liu Z, Yang G, Hu X, Mou C Tags: Gene Source Type: research