Analysis of Genome DNA Methylation at Inherited Coat-Color Dilutions of Rex Rabbits

    January 2020 in “ Research Square (Research Square) ”
    Yang Chen, Shuaishuai Hu, Ming Liu, Bohao Zhao, Neng Yang, Jiali Li, Qiuran Chen, Juan Zhou, Guolian Bao, Xinsheng Wu
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    TLDR Inherited color dilution in Rex rabbits is linked to DNA methylation changes in hair follicles.
    The study investigated genome-wide DNA methylation in Rex rabbit hair follicles to understand the epigenetic regulation of coat-color dilution. By comparing Chinchilla (Ch) and diluted Chinchilla (DCh) groups using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing, researchers found that 3.5% of cytosine sites were methylated, with CG methylation being the most common. They identified 126,405 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) and 11,459 DMR-associated genes (DMGs), which were mainly involved in pigmentation development and Wnt signaling pathways. Verification through bisulfite treatment and qRT-PCR confirmed the reliability of the data. The findings highlighted a significant link between inherited color dilution and DNA methylation changes in rabbit hair follicles.
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