Comparative analysis of the blood transcriptomes between wolves and dogs

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Abstract
Summary: Dogs were domesticated by human and originated from wolves. Their evolutionary relationships have attracted much scientific interest due to their genetic affinity but different habitats. To identify the differences between dogs and wolves associated with domestication, we analysed the blood transcriptomes of wolves and dogs byRNA‐Seq. We obtained a total of 30.87 Gb of raw reads from two dogs and three wolves usingRNA‐Seq technology. Comparisons of the wolf and dog transcriptomes revealed 524 genes differentially expressed genes between them. We found that some genes related to immune function (DCK,ICAM4,GAPDHandBSG) and aerobic capacity (HBA1,HBA2andHBB) were more highly expressed in the wolf. Six differentially expressed genes related to the innate immune response (CCL23,TRIM10,DUSP10,RAB27A,CLEC5AandGCH1) were found in the wolf by a Gene Ontology enrichment analysis. Immune system development was also enriched only in the wolf group. TheALAS2,HMBSandFECHgenes, shown to be enriched by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, were associated with the higher aerobic capacity and hypoxia endurance of the wolf. The results suggest that the wolf might have greater resistance to pathogens, hypoxia endurance and aerobic capacity than dogs do.
Funding Information
  • Special Fund for Forest Scientific Research in the Public Welfare (201404420)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (31372220, 31672313)

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