Heat stress has a severe effect on animal health and can reduce the productivity and reproductive efficiency; it is therefore necessary to explore the molecular mechanism involved in heat stress response, which is helpful for the cultivation of an animal breed with resistance to heat stress. However, little research about heat stress-responsive molecular analysis has been reported in sheep. Therefore, in this study, RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to investigate the transcriptome profiling in the liver of Hu sheep with and without heat stress. In total, we detected 520 and 22 differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs, respectively. The differentially expressed mRNAs were mainly associated with metabolic processes, the regulation of biosynthetic processes, and the regulation of glucocorticoid; additionally, they were significantly enriched in the heat stress related pathways, including the carbon metabolism, the PPAR signaling pathway, and vitamin digestion and absorption. The co-located differentially expressed lncRNA Lnc_001782 might positively influence the expression of the corresponding genes APOA4 and APOA5, exerting co-regulative effects on the liver function. Thus, we made the hypothesis that Lnc_001782, APOA4 and APOA5 might function synergistically to regulate the anti-heat stress ability in Hu sheep. This study provides a catalog of Hu sheep liver mRNAs and lncRNAs, and will contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanism underlying heat stress responses.

The present study aimed to investigate the colonization process of epithelial bacteria attached to the rumen and intestinal tract tissue during the development of goats after birth. However, this process from fetus to adulthood was very limited. In goats, the rumen and cecum are two important fermentation organs, and it is important to study the acquisition and development of the neonatal microbiome, as well as the difference between these two organs. To characterize the microbial establishment and dynamic changes in the rumen and cecum from fetus to adulthood, we performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing for 106 samples from 47 individuals of nine pregnant mother–fetus pairs and 16 kids from birth up to 6 months. The diversity, structure and composition of the microbial communities were distinct between the rumen and cecum after birth, while they were similar in the fetal period. The study showed a rapid loss and influx of microbes at birth, followed by slight selection after drinking colostrum, and then a strong selection after weaning, suggesting that the establishment and dynamic fluctuations of the gut microbiome undergoes three distinct phases of microbiome progression in life: a conserved phase (during late pregnancy in the fetus), a transitional phase (newborn until weaning), and a stable phase (from weaning to adulthood). The results supported the view that microbes exist in the fetus, and revealed the establishment and dynamic fluctuations of the gut microbiome from fetus to adulthood in goats.