Transcriptome analysis of muskrat scented glands degeneration mechanism

PLoS One. 2017 May 4;12(5):e0176935. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176935. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

The scented gland, a musk-secreting organ of male muskrats, shows clear seasonal changes. When entering the secreting season in March, scented glands gradually increase in size and active secretion starts. In September, scented glands become gradually smaller and secretion decreases. By November, scented glands are gradually replaced by adipose tissue. In this study, six healthy adult male muskrats were analysed: three from the secreting season (March) and three from the non-secreting season (November). Using RNA-Seq analysis, gene expression profiles of scented glands from both seasons were determined. Using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database, we found that genes involved in calcium and TGF-beta signalling pathways were significantly more expressed in the non-secreting than in the secreting season. These changes in gene expression correlated with alterations in scented gland size. Both calcium and TGF-beta signalling pathways are important regulators of cell apoptosis, which may thus be involved in muskrat scented gland degeneration.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arvicolinae / genetics*
  • Databases, Genetic
  • Male
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Scent Glands / metabolism*
  • Seasons
  • Transcriptome*
  • Transforming Growth Factor beta / metabolism

Substances

  • Transforming Growth Factor beta

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Postdoctor No. 168033, Grant No. 2016M591094) and Zhangzhou Pien Tze Huang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (grant no. 2015HXFWBHQ-LSQ-001). The Zhangzhou Pien Tze Huang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, an institution also have their own independent research department, mainly engaged in scientific research. This institution in addition to providing us with funding support, it also contributes to experimental design and manuscript content revise. The experimental facilities were provided by the College of Nature Conservation's Innovation Laboratory, Beijing Forestry University.