Mechanism of differences in early morphological development of goose feathers based on transcnptome sequencing

【Objective】 The purpose of this paper was to explore the key candidate genes that regulated the early morphological differences of the primary feather follicle in different parts of goose during embryonic period,so as to provide theoretical reference for further revealing the regulation mechanism of feather morphogenesis in different parts of goose.【Method】 In this study,dorsal skin and ventral skin tissue samples of goose during embryonic period in the early stage of primary feather follicle were collected for histological section preparation and H&E staining, the morphological differences between the two parts of the primary feather follicle were observed. Three dorsal skin tissue samples and three ventral skin tissue samples from goose during embryonic period in the early stage of primary feather follicle were collected. The RNA was purified and subjected to transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis,and differentially expressed genes (DEGs)of 2 tissues were screened.【Result】 Observation of skin tissue morphology revealed that the diameter of the dorsal primary feather follicle primordium was longer than that of ventral part,but the density was lower than that of ventral part;a total of 702 DEGs were screened based on the transcriptomes of dorsal and ventral skin tissues,the screening threshold was|log₂ Fold Change| ≥ 1(P<0.05),including 337 up-regulated and 365 down-regulated DEGs;real-time fluorescence quantification(qRT-PCR)was used to verify the four genes selected,which was consistent with the expression trend of the transcriptome data according to the result;KEGG pathway analysis was performed on the DEGs,and WNT and TGF-β signaling pathways were enriched. The 4 genes selected,GREM1,SMOC1,SFRP4 and CRABP1,were presumed to be the key candidate genes regulating the morphological differences of dorsal and ventral primary feather follicle primordium in goose during embryonic period.【Conclusion】The histology and transcriptome analysis of dorsal and ventral skin tissues from goose at embryonic stage shows that the diameter of dorsal primary feather follicle primordium is longer than that of ventral part,but the density is lower than that of ventral part. The key genes affecting the morphological differences of the primary feather follicle primordium are effectively screened,which can provide basis for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks affecting the morphological differences of feathers in different parts of goose.