The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism

Abstract Background Heat stress has a significant adverse impact on both livestock and poultry production, posing a considerable challenge to the artificial breeding of forest musk deer. However, there is a lack of studies on the heat stress of forest musk deer, so it is necessary to understand the...

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Main Authors: Xin Shi, Zhuo Cheng, Chengli Zheng, Kaiqing Wang, Jiandong Yang, Hang Jie, Yang Li, Ming Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-04-01
Series:BMC Genomics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11577-y
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author Xin Shi
Zhuo Cheng
Chengli Zheng
Kaiqing Wang
Jiandong Yang
Hang Jie
Yang Li
Ming Zhang
author_facet Xin Shi
Zhuo Cheng
Chengli Zheng
Kaiqing Wang
Jiandong Yang
Hang Jie
Yang Li
Ming Zhang
author_sort Xin Shi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Heat stress has a significant adverse impact on both livestock and poultry production, posing a considerable challenge to the artificial breeding of forest musk deer. However, there is a lack of studies on the heat stress of forest musk deer, so it is necessary to understand the effects of temperature and humidity index (THI) variation on these animals. Results In according to the local climate characteristics, blood samples were collected during four periods (April, June, July and August) for biochemical indicators and transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that blood cortisol and corticosterone concentrations increased significantly in July (THI = 74.89, P < 0.05). Moreover, Na+ concentration exhibited a negatively correlated with THI (r = -0.959, Pr = 0.041). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration in July (G3) was significantly lower than that in April (G1) and June (G2) (P < 0.05). The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in July was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the creatine kinase (CK) was significantly higher than that in April and August. There was a significant positive correlation between immunoglobulin G (IgG) and THI (r = 0.999, Pr = 0.001) attributable to the significant increase of TNF-α in July (P < 0.05). The transcriptomic comparison between G1 and G3 revealed the largest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (6410 up-regulated and 472 down-regulated). Among them, JAK1, AP3B1 and FKBP15 were the most significantly up-regulated immune-related genes in response to heat stress. Trend analysis indicated that the pathways related to immunity and protein metabolism were particularly impacted by heat stress. Conclusions Research indicates that heat stress disrupts the normal metabolism of forest musk deer and adversely affects their immune system, which is attributed to the THI exceeding the threshold that forest musk deer can tolerate. The findings of this study provide valuable data support for the scientific breeding of captive forest musk deer and enhance the understanding of the immune dynamics of ruminants under heat stress.
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spelling doaj-art-d55ac03c4fc14efe8b65660baceb8c852025-08-20T03:14:02ZengBMCBMC Genomics1471-21642025-04-0126111410.1186/s12864-025-11577-yThe blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolismXin Shi0Zhuo Cheng1Chengli Zheng2Kaiqing Wang3Jiandong Yang4Hang Jie5Yang Li6Ming Zhang7College of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural UniversitySichuan Institute of Musk Deer BreedingCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityChongqing Institute of Medicinal Plant CultivationChengdu Yongkang Pharmaceutical Co., LtdCollege of Animal Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background Heat stress has a significant adverse impact on both livestock and poultry production, posing a considerable challenge to the artificial breeding of forest musk deer. However, there is a lack of studies on the heat stress of forest musk deer, so it is necessary to understand the effects of temperature and humidity index (THI) variation on these animals. Results In according to the local climate characteristics, blood samples were collected during four periods (April, June, July and August) for biochemical indicators and transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that blood cortisol and corticosterone concentrations increased significantly in July (THI = 74.89, P < 0.05). Moreover, Na+ concentration exhibited a negatively correlated with THI (r = -0.959, Pr = 0.041). Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentration in July (G3) was significantly lower than that in April (G1) and June (G2) (P < 0.05). The total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) in July was significantly decreased (P < 0.05), and the creatine kinase (CK) was significantly higher than that in April and August. There was a significant positive correlation between immunoglobulin G (IgG) and THI (r = 0.999, Pr = 0.001) attributable to the significant increase of TNF-α in July (P < 0.05). The transcriptomic comparison between G1 and G3 revealed the largest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (6410 up-regulated and 472 down-regulated). Among them, JAK1, AP3B1 and FKBP15 were the most significantly up-regulated immune-related genes in response to heat stress. Trend analysis indicated that the pathways related to immunity and protein metabolism were particularly impacted by heat stress. Conclusions Research indicates that heat stress disrupts the normal metabolism of forest musk deer and adversely affects their immune system, which is attributed to the THI exceeding the threshold that forest musk deer can tolerate. The findings of this study provide valuable data support for the scientific breeding of captive forest musk deer and enhance the understanding of the immune dynamics of ruminants under heat stress.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11577-yHeat stressCortisolCorticosteroneHomeostasis metabolismMusk deer
spellingShingle Xin Shi
Zhuo Cheng
Chengli Zheng
Kaiqing Wang
Jiandong Yang
Hang Jie
Yang Li
Ming Zhang
The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
BMC Genomics
Heat stress
Cortisol
Corticosterone
Homeostasis metabolism
Musk deer
title The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
title_full The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
title_fullStr The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
title_full_unstemmed The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
title_short The blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
title_sort blood transcriptome of musk deer under heat stress condition reveals the regulatory mechanism of genes to maintain homeostasis metabolism
topic Heat stress
Cortisol
Corticosterone
Homeostasis metabolism
Musk deer
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-025-11577-y
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