Comparative transcriptomic analysis of differentially expressed genes between horned and polled populations of Qilian Tibetan sheep
CHEN Siyuan
YUAN Zhikuan
FENG Peijian
YAO Liangwei
LI Wenhao
Abstract：This study aims to employ transcriptome sequencing(RNA-Seq)to analyze blood samples from horned and polled populations of Qilian Tibetan sheep in order to identify genes associated with horn development.The results revealed a total of 192 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between the two groups,among which 140 were upregulated and 52 were downregulated.Gene Ontology(GO)enrichment analysis indicated that these DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways such as cytokine receptor activity,intrinsic component of membrane,and integral component of membrane.Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analysis demonstrated that the genes were prominently enriched in pathways including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction,and viral protein interaction with cytokines and their receptors.The study indicates that multiple differentially expressed genes may serve as crucial candidate genes influencing the development of the polled trait in Qilian Tibetan sheep.These findings provide a provide reference for revealing the genetic mechanism of horn development in Qilian Tibetan sheep,improving the genetic characteristics of horns and their application,and breeding Tibetan sheep varieties in Qilian region.
Keywords：Qilian Tibetan sheepmolecular selectionhorntranscriptome sequencingdifferentially expressed genes
Publication Date：2025-10-16
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-09(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 99-104 )