Data from: Transcriptomic inspection revealed a possible pathway regulating the formation of the high-quality brush hair in Chinese Haimen goat (Capra hircus)

The high-quality brush hair, or Type III brush hair, is coarse hair but with a tip and little medulla, which uniquely grows in the cervical carina of Chinese Haimen goat (Capra hircus). To unveil the mechanism of the formation of Type III brush hair in Haimen goats, transcriptomic RNAseq technology was used for screening of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the skin samples between the Type III and the non-type III hair goats, and these DEGs were analyzed by KEGG pathway analysis. The results showed that a total of 295 DEGs were obtained, mainly from three main functional types: cellular component, molecular function and biological process. These DEGs were mainly enriched in a couple of KEGG pathways, such as protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, MAPK, complement and coagulation cascades. These DEGs gave hints to a possible mechanism, under which heat stress possibly initiated the formation. The study would provide some useful biological information, which could give a new view about the roles of certain factors in hair growth and give hints on the mechanism of the formation of the Type III brush hair in Chinese Haimen goat.

优质鬃毛即III型鬃毛，属于粗硬毛发，但顶端带有毛尖且髓质稀少，且仅特异性生长于中国海门山羊（Capra hircus）的颈嵴部位。为揭示海门山羊III型鬃毛的形成机制，本研究采用转录组RNA测序技术，对生长III型鬃毛与非III型鬃毛的山羊皮肤样本进行差异表达基因（differentially expressed genes, DEGs）筛选，并通过KEGG通路分析对上述差异基因进行富集分析。研究共获得295个差异表达基因，主要涵盖三大功能类别：细胞组分、分子功能与生物过程。这些差异表达基因主要富集于内质网蛋白质加工、丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（mitogen-activated protein kinase, MAPK）、补体与凝血级联反应等KEGG通路。分析结果提示了一种潜在的形成机制，即热应激可能参与启动了III型鬃毛的发育过程。本研究可为毛发生长相关因子的作用提供新的研究视角，同时为阐明中国海门山羊III型鬃毛的形成机理提供了有价值的生物学线索。