Digital Gene Expression and Proteomics Analyses for
Hepatic Lipid Metabolism in Chicken Embryos
Wei Na, Yuanyuan Wu, Chunyan Wu, Yuxiang Wang, Ning Wang, Zhi-Qiang Du, Hui
Li*
Key Laboratory of Chicken Genetics and Breeding, Ministry of Agriculture ； Key
Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Education Department of
Heilongjiang Province ； College of Animal Science and Technology, Northeast
Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, P.R. China
As an enclosed and easy-to-manipulate system, chicken embryos contribute
enormously to our understanding on vertebrate development. Avian embryonic growth
and development rely mainly on yolk lipids. Therefore, hepatic lipid metabolism and
lipogenesis have been studied extensively, and also used as a model for fatty liver
diseases. However, knowledge on the molecular mechanism of hepatic lipid metabolism
in chicken embryos is still very limited. We performed digital gene expression profiling
and comparative proteomics on chicken livers at five important embryonic developmental
stages (E7, E12, E14, E17 and H1), which were selected from chicken lines with
significant differences in abdominal fat content. Each developmental stage had its unique
gene expression pattern and stage-specific differentially expressed genes. Furthermore,
the three rapid growth periods (E12, E14 and E17) had similar expression patterns.
Between the two broiler lines, E17 had the largest number of significantly differentially
expressed genes (979), specifically enriched in fatty acid metabolism and biosynthesis,
PPAR signaling and glycolysis pathways, which was complemented by the identification
of differentially expressed APOA-I gene through quantitative proteomics. Therefore,
genome-wide gene expression and proteomics analyses recapitulated the developmental
pattern of chicken embryos, and found the important molecular pathways for hepatic lipid
metabolism. Stage-specific gene pathways could be involved in the hepatic lipid
metabolism in chicken embryos divergently selected for abdominal fat content, which
could also provide novel insights for embryonic liver development and diseases.
*Corresponding author:
Hui Li
College of Animal Science and Technology
Northeast Agricultural University
Harbin 150030
P.R. China
Phone: 0451-55191516
Email: lihui@neau.edu.cn