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Screening for reproductive biomarkers in Bactrian camel via iTRAQ analysis of proteomes
Author(s) -
Wang Qi,
Zhang Quanwei,
Gan Ze,
Li Haijiang,
Yang Yang,
Zhang Yong,
Zhao Xingxu
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.13607
Subject(s) - biology , proteome , estrous cycle , western blot , proteomics , andrology , bioinformatics , endocrinology , genetics , gene , medicine
Bactrian camel is an ancient and precious species of livestock; that is, unique resources exist in the desert and have important economic and scientific value. In recent years, the number of Bactrian camels has declined sharply. Due to its long reproductive cycle and seasonal oestrus, the mechanism of oestrus is unknown. To identify candidate biomarkers of reproduction, we performed a comprehensive proteomic analysis of serum from Bactrian camel in oestrus and non‐oestrus, using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. We identified 359 proteins, of which 32 were differentially expressed: 11 were up‐regulated and 21 were down‐regulated in samples from camels in oestrus. We validated the differential expression of a subset of these proteins using qPCR and Western blot. Gene ontology annotation identified that the differentially expressed proteins function in cellular processes, metabolic processes and immune system processes. Notably, five of the differentially expressed proteins, PCGF5, histone H1.2, RBP4, FOLR1 and ANTXR2, are involved in reproductive regulatory processes in other animals. KEGG enrichment analysis demonstrated significant enrichment in several cardiac‐related pathways, such as ‘dilated cardiomyopathy’, ‘hypertrophic cardiomyopathy’, ‘cardiac muscle contraction’ and ‘adrenergic signalling in cardiomyopathy’. Our results suggest that candidate biomarker (PCGF5, histone H1.2, RBP4, FOLR1 and ANTXR2) discovery can aid in understanding reproduction in Bactrian camels. We conclude that the profiling of serum proteomes, followed by the measurement of selected proteins using more targeted methods, offers a promising approach for studying mechanisms of oestrus.