Fig 1.
SACPIC staining of fetal goat tissue.
(a) Schematic representation of the process of HF morphogenesis. Longitudinal sections (× 40) of fetal HF at (b) placode (E60), (c) differentiation stage (E120), and (d) maturation stage (NB). A high magnification view (× 160) of HF at (e) E120 and (f) NB. BL: Basal layer, DC: Dermal condensate, PHF: Primary hair follicle, SHF: Secondary hair follicle, DP: Dermal papilla, Bu: Bugle, SG: Sebaceous gland, HS: Hair shaft.
Table 1.
List of KRT and KRTAP genes differentially expressed in E120 vs. E60 and NB vs. E60, which were also detectable in the HF of cashmere goats.
Fig 2.
Expression levels of tested reference genes revealed by qPCR and RNA-seq.
Data from qPCR are shown as means ± standard error (SE) of three replicates. RPKM from RNA-seq are shown as means and SE of three replicates. The left side indicates the data from qPCR; the right side shows RPKM from RNA-seq.
Fig 3.
Distribution of KLK11 and VDR immunoreactivity in fetal goat skin.
(a) E60: KLK11 was detected in the epidermis. The placode of HF shows little or no immunoreactivity at this stage (arrow). (b) E120: KLK11 was expressed strongly in the root sheaths and slightly in the bulb of HF (arrow). (c) NB: KLK11 was present in the hair matrix cells and root sheaths (arrow). (d) E60: VDR shows intense immunostaining in the epidermis. Very little VDR immunoreactivity was detected in the placode (arrow). (e) E120: VDR immunoreactivity is predominantly detected in the ORS keratinocytes and the bulb of HF (arrow). (f) NB: In fully formed HF, VDR staining was present in the root sheaths and bulb cells, where immunoreactivity was particularly enhanced in the ORS keratinocyte and matrix zone. Bar: 100 μm.
Fig 4.
Functional categorisation of differentially expressed genes among libraries.
The results are summarised in three main categories: biological process, cellular component and molecular function. The X-axis indicates the second level term of gene ontology; The Y-axis shows the percentage of genes.
Table 2.
20 top KEGG pathways with high representation of the DEGs in E120 vs. E60 and NB vs. E60.
Fig 5.
Cluster trajectory profiles across stages of HF development.
Profiles a-d: Each X-axis indicates the HF development state (E60, E120, and NB); The Y-axis shows expression changes. Trajectory cluster analyses (see Methods) show that gene expression did not steadily increase or decrease in the progression. Four profiles (profiles a-d) represent the major transcriptional trajectories.
Table 3.
Selected genes differentially expressed in cashmere goat skin during the HF initiation.
Table 4.
Selected genes differentially expressed in cashmere goat skin during the HF cytodifferentiation and maturation.
Fig 6.
Illustration of HF initiation and cytodifferentiation.
(a) The pathway and regulators during the development stages of HF initiation. (b) The pathway and regulators during development stages of HF cytodifferentiation and maturation. Arrows indicate either increased or decreased gene expression.