Identification of N6-Methyladenosine-Related Factors and the Prediction of the Regulatory Mechanism of Hair Follicle Development in Rex and Hycole Rabbits

SIMPLE SUMMARY: N6-methyladenosine (m(6)A) is an important modification for genes. Hair follicle development is crucial for the animal fur economy. To improve the quality of animal fur and solve the problem of baldness in people, we explored the regulatory mechanism of m(6)A on rabbit hair follicles and found that five methylases regulated the development of hair follicles through differential genes/signal pathways. These findings laid a molecular foundation for improving the quality of animal fur and solving the problem of baldness in people. ABSTRACT: Hair follicle development directly affects the development of the rabbit fur industry. The growth and development of a hair follicle is modified and regulated by many genes and mechanisms. M(6)A is an important RNA modification. However, there are few studies on the effects of the regulation of m(6)A on hair follicle growth and development. In this study, hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining was used to explore the difference in hair follicle development between Rex rabbits and Hycole rabbits, and we performed m(6)A sequencing to identify the key genes with m(6)A modification in hair follicle growth. The results showed that the hair length, coarse hair percentage, primary hair follicle ratio, and skin thickness of Hycole rabbits were significantly higher than those of Rex rabbits. However, the proportion of secondary hair follicles in Hycole rabbits was significantly lower than that in Rex rabbits. In addition, we found five differential methylases, 20 differential genes, and 24 differential signaling pathways related to hair growth and development. The results of the Sankey diagram showed that 12 genes were related to 13 signal pathways. Finally, we found that five methylases regulated the development of hair follicles through differential genes/signal pathways. These findings laid a molecular foundation for the function of m(6)A modification in hair development.