In the present investigation, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were studied using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technique in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of weaned Ghurrah and crossbred piglets at 3-month age. Transcriptomic analysis was done using three different packages, namely, EBSeq, DESeq2, and edgeR, to identify the DEGs between Ghurrah and crossbred piglets. Total 7717 DEGs were commonly identified by all three packages, out of which 4151 genes found to be up-regulated, and 3566 genes were down-regulated. Functional annotation of these DEGs indicated metabolism as the most commonly enriched category followed by the immune response. Genes related to metabolism and growth were up-regulated in crossbred piglets as compared with Ghurrah piglets, whereas immunity-related genes were up-regulated in Ghurrah piglets elucidating the disease resistance nature of this indigenous breed over crossbred counterparts. Further, eight DEGs, namely, LRP-1, ADCY4, ERRFI1, LDHD, ARG1, OASL, MGARP, and S100A8, were validated by qRT-PCR in a separate set of biological samples and found to be in concordance with RNA-seq results. Finding in the present study provides insight into genes and their molecular mechanisms governing difference in growth performance between Ghurrah and crossbred pigs.

在本研究中，在3个月大的断奶仔猪和杂交仔猪的猪外周血单核细胞（PBMC）中，使用RNA测序（RNA-seq）技术研究了差异表达基因（DEG）。使用三个不同的软件包，即EBSeq，DESeq2和edgeR，进行转录组学分析，以鉴定Ghurrah和杂交仔猪之间的DEG。这三个软件包通常共鉴定了7717个DEG，其中发现4151个基因被上调，而3566个基因被下调。这些DEG的功能注释表明新陈代谢是最常见的富集类别，其次是免疫反应。与Ghurrah仔猪相比，杂种仔猪与代谢和生长相关的基因上调，而与免疫相关的基因在古拉（Ghurrah）仔猪中被​​上调，这说明了该本地品种的抗病性优于杂种。此外，八个DEG，即LRP-1，ADCY4，ERRFI1，LDHD，ARG1，OASL，MGARP和S100A8在另一套生物样品中通过qRT-PCR验证，并与RNA-seq结果一致。在本研究中的发现提供了对基因和它们控制古拉和杂交猪之间生长性能差异的分子机理的见解。