Genome-Wide Analysis of the FABP Gene Family in Liver of Chicken (Gallus gallus): Identification Dynamic Expression Profile and Regulatory Mechanism

摘要

The fatty acid-binding protein ( ) gene family, which encodes a group of fatty acid-trafficking molecules that affect cellular functions, has been studied extensively in mammals. However, little is known about the gene structure, expression profile, and regulatory mechanism of the gene family in chickens. In the present study, bioinformatics-based methods were used to identify the family members and investigate their evolutionary history and features of gene structure. Real-time PCR combined with in vivo and in vitro experiments were used to examine the spatiotemporal expression pattern, and explore the regulatory mechanism of genes. The results show that nine members of the gene family, which branched into two clusters and shared a conserved FATTYACIDBP domain, exist in the genome of chickens. Of these, seven genes, including , and were abundantly expressed in the liver of hens. The expression levels of , , and were significantly increased, and were significantly decreased, and and remained unchanged in hens at the peak laying stage in comparison to those at the pre-laying stage. Transcription of and were activated by estrogen via estrogen receptor (ER) α, whilst was activated by estrogen via ERβ. Meanwhile, the expression of was regulated by peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) isoforms, of which tested PPARα and PPARβ agonists significantly inhibited the expression of , while tested PPARγ agonists significantly increased the expression of , but downregulated it when the concentration of the PPARγ agonist reached 100 nM. The expression of was upregulated via tested PPARβ and PPARγ agonists, and the expression of was selectively promoted via PPARγ. The expression of was activated by all of the three tested PPAR agonists, but the expression of was not affected by any of the PPAR agonists. In conclusion, members of the gene family in chickens shared similar functional domains, gene structures, and evolutionary histories with mammalian species, but exhibited varying expression profiles and regulatory mechanisms. The results provide a valuable resource for better understanding the biological functions of individual genes in chickens.