Genome-Wide Transcriptome and Metabolome Analyses Provide Novel Insights and Suggest a Sex-Specific Response to Heat Stress in Pigs

Abstract

Heat stress (HS) negatively impacts pig production and swine health. Therefore, to understand the genetic and metabolic responses of pigs to HS, we used RNA-Seq and high resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR analyses to compare the transcriptomes and metabolomes of Duroc pigs (n = 6, 3 barrows and 3 gilts) exposed to heat stress (33 °C and 60% RH) with a control group (25 °C and 60% RH). HS resulted in the differential expression of 552 (236 up, 316 down) and 879 (540 up, 339 down) genes and significant enrichment of 30 and 31 plasma metabolites in female and male pigs, respectively. Apoptosis, response to heat, Toll-like receptor signaling and oxidative stress were enriched among the up-regulated genes, while negative regulation of the immune response, ATP synthesis and the ribosomal pathway were enriched among down-regulated genes. Twelve and ten metabolic pathways were found to be enriched (among them, four metabolic pathways, including arginine and proline metabolism, and three metabolic pathways, including pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis), overlapping between the transcriptome and metabolome analyses in the female and male group respectively. The limited overlap between pathways enriched with differentially expressed genes and enriched plasma metabolites between the sexes suggests a sex-specific response to HS in pigs.

Genome-wide selection signatures detection in Shanghai Holstein cattle population identified genes related to adaption, health and reproduction traits

“…Heat shock proteins play a crucial role in environmental stress adaptation and thermal balance [ 15 ]. PRPF4B and PXDC1 , which are potential candidate genes affecting pregnancy establishment and maintenance in Chinese Holstein cattle, were identified by revealing the genetic and biological basis of the reproductive performance of dairy cows under heat stress [ 64 – 66 ]. The SNPs in GOLGA4 explained the greatest proportion of the genetic variation in the cow conception rate in Holstein cows [ 67 , 68 ].…”

Transcriptomic Analysis of the Porcine Gut in Response to Heat Stress and Dietary Soluble Fiber from Beet Pulp

“…HS causes adverse impacts on the molecular and cellular pathways, damaging the various metabolic processes with a detrimental impact on animal health and production [ 34 ]. HS appears when the heat accumulation in the body exceeds the body’s heat loss [ 2 , 22 ]. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is one of the main systems affected by HS, causing a decrease in intestinal integrity and barrier function, which in turn may affect the post-absorptive metabolism and tissue accretion [ 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Furthermore, the gut microbiota rapidly fermented the soluble fiber due to its high capacity for hydration-releasing SCFAs, such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate, which play an influential role in maintaining gut homeostasis, and mucus production and secretion [ 20 ]. Thus, soluble fiber has the potential to contribute to the maintenance of gut health and integrity following HS [ 21 , 22 ].…”

Intergenerational Effects of Early Life Starvation on Life-History, Consumption, and Transcriptome of a Holometabolous Insect

“…Larvae that were starved but whose parents were not starved may have suffered more than starved larvae from starved parents, as indicated by the upregulation of putative ribosomal pathway genes. Differential expression of genes of the ribosomal pathway has been observed in a wide variety of taxa in response to thermal stress (Paraskevopoulou et al 2020; Schwanz et al 2020; Srikanth et al 2020), demonstrating the broad role of this pathway in stress response. Differential expression of genes involved in stress and other physiological and metabolic responses may have energetic costs, which may lead to a prolonged development time of starved larvae in A. rosae .…”