Comparative transcriptome reveals the mechanism of mink fur development and color formation

Abstract Background: Mink fur is an important economic product, but the molecular mechanism of its color formation and fur development is still unclear. We used RNA-seq to analyze the skin transcriptome of young and adult minks with two different hair colors. Result: The minks were made up of black adults (AB), white adults (AW), black juveniles (TB), and white juveniles (TW) (three each). We found that thirteen KRTAP genes and five signaling pathways (JAK-STAT signaling Pathway (cfa04630), Signaling pathways regulating pluripotency of stem cells (cfa04550), ECM-receptor interaction (cfa04512), Focal adhesion (cfa04510) and Ras signaling pathway (cfa04014)) were related to mink fur development through pair comparison and cross-screening among different subgroups. We also found a tyrosinase family (TYR, TYRP1, TYRP2) involved in mink hair color formation. The expression level of TYR in black young minks was higher than that in white young minks, but this phenomenon was not observed in adult minks.Conclusion: Our study found significant differences in adult and juvenile mink skin transcriptome, which may shed light on the mechanism of mink fur development. At the same time, the skin transcriptome of black and white minks was also different, and the comparison was different by age, suggesting that the genes regulating hair color function in early childhood rather than adulthood. This study can provide molecular support for breeding mink coat color and improving fur quality.