De Novo Transcriptome Assembly, Functional Annotation and SSR Marker Discovery of Qinling Takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The golden takin is an endemic ruminant that has been listed as an endangered and vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Because it lacks a reference genome, little is known about its molecular genetic information. Therefore, this study used RNA sequencing followed by de novo assembly, annotation and microsatellites prediction to assess the transcriptome of golden takin muscles. These results provide valuable information for genetic and genomic studies on takin, which will be helpful for protecting the wild takin. ABSTRACT: The takin (Budorcas taxicolor) is an endemic ruminant species belonging to the bovine family. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as an endangered and vulnerable species. However, little is known about its molecular characterization since it lacks a reference genome. This study used RNA sequencing followed by de novo assembly, annotation and simple sequence repeats (SSRs) prediction to assess the transcriptome of Qinling takin (Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi) muscles. In total, 21,648 unigenes with an N50 and mean length of 1388 bp and 817 bp, respectively, were successfully detected and annotated against the public databases (NR, GO, KEGG, and EggNOG). Furthermore, 6222 SSRs were identified using the MIcroSAtellite (MISA) identification tool software. Taken together, these findings will provide valuable information for genetic, genomic, and evolutionary studies on takin.