Seasonal gene expression

To cope with the seasonal changes in the environment, many animal species exhibit seasonal variations in their physiology and behavior. Humans also show seasonal differences in various physiological processes, including those related to hormone secretion, metabolism, immune function and reproduction. To better understand the mechanisms underlying these seasonal changes, Chen and colleagues analyzed the seasonal transcriptome of samples of 80 tissues, including 30 brain regions and 50 peripheral tissues, collected over one year from male and female rhesus macaques (4- to 11-year-old) kept in a semi-natural outdoor environment. They identified seasonally oscillating genes (SOGs) in all tissues studied (273−2,344 SOGs in males vs. 342−1,943 SOGs in females), providing insights into the molecular basis of seasonally regulated physiology. The researchers also identified seasonal fluctuations in the expression of several disease-related genes, including the gene encoding serine protease TMPRSS2, which is used by SARS-CoV-2 to enter the cells. The data, which can be accessed in the Non-Human Primate Seasonal Transcriptome Atlas Database (NHPSTA) (https://rhythm.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/NHPSTA/), could be a valuable resource to identify new therapies for seasonally regulated diseases.

Original reference: Chen, J. et al. Nat. Commun. 16, 3906 (2025)