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. 2024 Nov 23;14(1):29041.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-80080-3.

Preliminary exploration of the musk biosynthetic mechanism by transcriptomic sequencing in muskrats

Zhongxian Xu #  1   2 , Yinglian Chen #  1 , Dejun Zeng  1 , Xin Shi  3 , Tingting Zheng  2 , Chenglu Zhang  1 , Xiaolan Feng  1 , Linbo Yan  2 , Guijun Zhao  1 , Hang Jie  4
Affiliations

Preliminary exploration of the musk biosynthetic mechanism by transcriptomic sequencing in muskrats

Zhongxian Xu et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Musk, secreted by adult male forest musk deer, is a kind of precious Chinese traditional medicine for treating cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and neurogenic diseases. However, a lack of knowledge on musk biosynthetic mechanism and limited musk deer population have seriously hindered the development of the musk industry. Fortunately, given that muskrat musk has similar constituents and pharmacological action with deer musk, muskrat is an ideal model animal for exploring musk biosynthetic mechanism. To explore the biosynthetic mechanism of muskrat musk, in the current study, transcriptomic analysis in the liver, kidney and musk glands of male muskrats between musk secreting and non-musk secreting stages was conducted. The findings indicated that the role of muskrat liver on musk biosynthesis was altering sugar, lipid and amino acid metabolism as well as producing basic resources to support musk glands. Moreover, Tigar, Slc11a2, Gpt, Hmgcr, Slc27a4, and Elovl1 were identified as candidate genes for musk biosynthesis via a remotely controlled process. Expression of the Tigar, Slc11a2, and Gpt genes in the liver are downregulated to support the production of musk in muskrat musk gland. And the Hmgcr, Slc27a4, and Elovl1 genes in the musk gland participate in muskrat musk synthesis by influencing lipid metabolism in the musk secreting period. This study provided novel insights into the musk biosynthetic pathway in muskrat by transcriptomic analysis and preliminarily suggested the remote control of metabolism from the liver to musk gland during musk biosynthesis, which was useful to further understanding the musk biosynthetic process and improve musk production in the future.

Keywords: Musk biosynthetic mechanism; Muskrats; Remote control; Transcriptomic analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The expression profile of genes in the musk gland, liver and kidney of muskrat. (A) Boxplot of all expressed genes in muskrat tissues. (B) Venn diagrams of DEGs in the musk gland, liver and kidney of muskrat. (C) Volcano maps of DEGs in the musk gland (left), liver (middle) and kidney (right) of muskrat based on the comparisons between the musk secreting and non-musk secreting periods. “S” represents samples of musk secreting period, and “N” represents samples of non-musk secreting period.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The top 20 enriched pathways in the musk gland, liver, and kidney.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Identification of potential candidate genes associated with musk synthesis and secretion. (A) The expression heatmap of 6 candidate genes in all samples. (B) The correlation matrix (upper right) and expression levels (lower left) of 6 candidate genes. “*” represents p < 0.05, “**” represents p < 0.01, and “***” represents p < 0.001. (C) PCA of 6 candidate genes and physiological stages. “S” represents samples of musk secreting period, and “N” represents samples of non-musk secreting period.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Musk biosynthesis mechanism (A) and candidate genes validation (B) in muskrats.
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