Understanding the Skin Blackening Phenomenon in Youzhou Dark Goats Based on the Histological Characteristics of Melanocytes

Overview

Journal J Adv Vet Anim Res

Specialty Veterinary Medicine

Date 2025 Feb 27

PMID 40013286

Authors

Cancan Chen

Jie Li

Xiaoyan Sun

Jing Jiang

Shipeng Lv

Liangjia Liu

Gaofu Wang

Hangxing Ren

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objective: The study was conducted to identify the molecular mechanism of the phenotype formation of Youzhou black sheep by histological cytology and transcriptomics.

Materials And Methods: In this study, HE and IHC staining were used to explore the patterns and cytological differences in skin pigment deposition between Youzhou Dark goats and Banjiao goats. In addition, the DEGs related to the black skin phenotype were identified via transcriptomic analyses. Finally, the expression pattern of the agouti signal protein (ASIP) gene in the skin from individuals with different skin color phenotypes was verified by FISH.

Results: The results showed that compared with that on the skin surface of Banjiao goats, melanin deposition on the skin surface of Youzhou Dark goats was abnormally increased. The transcriptomic analyses showed that the expression of the genes decreased significantly in Youzhou Dark goats. FISH confirmed that the expression of the gene in Youzhou Dark goats was significantly lower than that in Banjiao goats.

Conclusion: The present study showed that a decrease in gene expression and an increase in melanin production are important factors associated with skin pigmentation in Youzhou Dark goats.

References

Norris B, Whan V . A gene duplication affecting expression of the ovine ASIP gene is responsible for white and black sheep. Genome Res. 2008; 18(8):1282-93. PMC: 2493430. DOI: 10.1101/gr.072090.107. View

Hepp D, Goncalves G, Moreira G, de Freitas T . Epistatic Interaction of the Melanocortin 1 Receptor and Agouti Signaling Protein Genes Modulates Wool Color in the Brazilian Creole Sheep. J Hered. 2016; 107(6):544-52. DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esw037. View

Hall M, Lopes-Ventura S, Neto M, Charneca J, Zoio P, Seabra M . Reconstructed human pigmented skin/epidermis models achieve epidermal pigmentation through melanocore transfer. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2022; 35(4):425-435. PMC: 9543140. DOI: 10.1111/pcmr.13039. View

Gelmi M, Houtzagers L, Strub T, Krossa I, Jager M . MITF in Normal Melanocytes, Cutaneous and Uveal Melanoma: A Delicate Balance. Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(11). PMC: 9181002. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116001. View

Sun X, Qu G, Wang D, Wang T, Sai W, Chen Y . Expression and distribution of bone morphogenetic protein 4 and its antagonist Noggin in the skin of Kazakh sheep (Ovis aries) with a white and brown coat color. Acta Histochem. 2020; 122(4):151539. DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2020.151539. View

Robic A, Morisson M, Leroux S, Gourichon D, Vignal A, Thebault N . Two new structural mutations in the 5' region of the ASIP gene cause diluted feather color phenotypes in Japanese quail. Genet Sel Evol. 2019; 51(1):12. PMC: 6466734. DOI: 10.1186/s12711-019-0458-6. View

Ren H, Wang G, Jiang J, Li J, Fu L, Liu L . Comparative transcriptome and histological analyses provide insights into the prenatal skin pigmentation in goat (). Physiol Genomics. 2017; 49(12):703-711. DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00072.2017. View

Wiriyasermkul P, Moriyama S, Nagamori S . Membrane transport proteins in melanosomes: Regulation of ions for pigmentation. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembr. 2020; 1862(12):183318. PMC: 7175901. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2020.183318. View

Pingault V, Zerad L, Bertani-Torres W, Bondurand N . SOX10: 20 years of phenotypic plurality and current understanding of its developmental function. J Med Genet. 2021; 59(2):105-114. PMC: 8788258. DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2021-108105. View

10.

Girardot M, Guibert S, Laforet M, Gallard Y, Larroque H, Oulmouden A . The insertion of a full-length Bos taurus LINE element is responsible for a transcriptional deregulation of the Normande Agouti gene. Pigment Cell Res. 2006; 19(4):346-55. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0749.2006.00312.x. View

11.

Trigo B, Utsunomiya A, Fortunato A, Milanesi M, Torrecilha R, Lamb H . Variants at the ASIP locus contribute to coat color darkening in Nellore cattle. Genet Sel Evol. 2021; 53(1):40. PMC: 8082809. DOI: 10.1186/s12711-021-00633-2. View

12.

Zhang X, Li W, Liu C, Peng X, Lin J, He S . Alteration of sheep coat color pattern by disruption of ASIP gene via CRISPR Cas9. Sci Rep. 2017; 7(1):8149. PMC: 5557758. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08636-0. View

13.

Su Z, Zheng X, Zhang X, Wang Y, Zhu S, Lu F . Sox10 regulates skin melanocyte proliferation by activating the DNA replication licensing factor MCM5. J Dermatol Sci. 2016; 85(3):216-225. DOI: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2016.12.002. View

14.

Kovacs D, Cardinali G, Picardo M, Bastonini E . Shining Light on Autophagy in Skin Pigmentation and Pigmentary Disorders. Cells. 2022; 11(19). PMC: 9563738. DOI: 10.3390/cells11192999. View

15.

Yao L, Bao A, Hong W, Hou C, Zhang Z, Liang X . Transcriptome profiling analysis reveals key genes of different coat color in sheep skin. PeerJ. 2019; 7:e8077. PMC: 6875393. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8077. View

16.

Huang Y, Li Y, Wang X, Yu J, Cai Y, Zheng Z . An atlas of CNV maps in cattle, goat and sheep. Sci China Life Sci. 2021; 64(10):1747-1764. DOI: 10.1007/s11427-020-1850-x. View

17.

Liang D, Zhao P, Si J, Fang L, Pairo-Castineira E, Hu X . Genomic Analysis Revealed a Convergent Evolution of LINE-1 in Coat Color: A Case Study in Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis). Mol Biol Evol. 2020; 38(3):1122-1136. PMC: 7947781. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa279. View

18.

Li D, Sun G, Zhang M, Cao Y, Zhang C, Fu Y . Breeding history and candidate genes responsible for black skin of Xichuan black-bone chicken. BMC Genomics. 2020; 21(1):511. PMC: 7376702. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-020-06900-8. View

19.

Levy C, Khaled M, Fisher D . MITF: master regulator of melanocyte development and melanoma oncogene. Trends Mol Med. 2006; 12(9):406-14. DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2006.07.008. View

20.

Lin J, Fisher D . Melanocyte biology and skin pigmentation. Nature. 2007; 445(7130):843-50. DOI: 10.1038/nature05660. View