Single-nucleus transcriptome inventory of giant panda reveals cellular basis for fitness optimization under low metabolism
Shangchen Yang,
Tianming Lan,
Rongping Wei,
Ling Zhang,
Lin Lin,
Hanyu Du,
Yunting Huang,
Guiquan Zhang,
Shan Huang,
Minhui Shi,
Chengdong Wang,
Qing Wang,
Rengui Li,
Lei Han,
Dan Tang,
Haimeng Li,
Hemin Zhang,
Jie Cui,
Haorong Lu,
Jinrong Huang,
Yonglun Luo,
Desheng Li,
Qiu-Hong Wan,
Huan Liu,
Sheng-Guo Fang
Affiliations
Shangchen Yang
MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
Tianming Lan
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Rongping Wei
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Ling Zhang
China Wildlife Conservation Association
Lin Lin
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Hanyu Du
MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
Yunting Huang
China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen
Guiquan Zhang
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Shan Huang
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Minhui Shi
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Chengdong Wang
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Qing Wang
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Rengui Li
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Lei Han
College of Wildlife Resources, Northeast Forestry University
Dan Tang
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Haimeng Li
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Hemin Zhang
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Jie Cui
The Genome Synthesis and Editing Platform, BGI-Shenzhen
Haorong Lu
China National GeneBank, BGI-Shenzhen
Jinrong Huang
Lars Bolund Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Qingdao-Europe Advanced Institute for Life Sciences, BGI-Qingdao
Yonglun Luo
Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University
Desheng Li
Key Laboratory of State Forestry and Grassland Administration (State Park Administration) on Conservation Biology of Rare Animals in the Giant Panda National Park, China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda
Qiu-Hong Wan
MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
Huan Liu
State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Genomics, BGI-Shenzhen
Sheng-Guo Fang
MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, State Conservation Centre for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University
Abstract Background Energy homeostasis is essential for the adaptation of animals to their environment and some wild animals keep low metabolism adaptive to their low-nutrient dietary supply. Giant panda is such a typical low-metabolic mammal exhibiting species specialization of extremely low daily energy expenditure. It has low levels of basal metabolic rate, thyroid hormone, and physical activities, whereas the cellular bases of its low metabolic adaptation remain rarely explored. Results In this study, we generate a single-nucleus transcriptome atlas of 21 organs/tissues from a female giant panda. We focused on the central metabolic organ (liver) and dissected cellular metabolic status by cross-species comparison. Adaptive expression mode (i.e., AMPK related) was prominently displayed in the hepatocyte of giant panda. In the highest energy-consuming organ, the heart, we found a possibly optimized utilization of fatty acid. Detailed cell subtype annotation of endothelial cells showed the uterine-specific deficiency of blood vascular subclasses, indicating a potential adaptation for a low reproductive energy expenditure. Conclusions Our findings shed light on the possible cellular basis and transcriptomic regulatory clues for the low metabolism in giant pandas and helped to understand physiological adaptation response to nutrient stress.
