Integrative analyses of antler cartilage transcriptome and pro-teome of Gansu red deer (Cervus elaphus kansuensis) at different growth stages

The velvet antler is a unique model for cancer and regeneration research due to its periodic re-generation and rapid growth. Antler growth is mainly triggered by the growth center located in its tip, which consists of velvet skin, mesenchyme and cartilage. Among them, cartilage accounts for most of the growth center. We performed an integrative analysis of the antler cartilage tran-scriptome and proteome at different antler growth stages. RNA-seq results revealed 24,778 uni-genes, 19,243 known protein-coding genes, and 5,535 new predicted genes. Of these, 2,722 were detected with differential expression patterns among 30 d, 60 d, and 90 d libraries, and 488 dif-ferentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened at 30 d vs. 60 d and 60 d vs. 90 d but not at 30 d vs. 90 d. Proteomic data identified 1,361 known proteins and 179 predicted novel proteins. Compar-ative analyses showed 382 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), of which 16 had differential expression levels at 30 d vs. 60 d and 60 d vs. 90 d but not at 30 d vs. 90 d. An integrated analysis conducted for DEGs and DEPs showed that gene13546 and its coding protein protein13546 anno-tated in the Wnt signaling pathway may possess important bio-logical functions in rapid antler growth. This study provides in-depth characterization of candidate genes and proteins, providing further insights into the molecular mechanisms controlling antler development.