College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China.
College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, China.
J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 2020 May;104(3):918-927. doi: 10.1111/jpn.13336. Epub 2020 Feb 26.
Information about the effects of photoperiod on the testicular transcriptome of broiler roosters is limited. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of different photoperiodic regimes on gene expression in the testes of broiler breeder roosters. One hundred and twenty Arbor Acres broiler breeder roosters aged 20 weeks were assigned to one of three groups (n = 40) and subjected to different photoperiodic regimes: control (CTR; 12.5 L:11.5 D), short day (SD; 8 L:16 D) and long day (LD; 16 L:8 D). After 4 weeks, the testes of 10 randomly selected birds from each group were dissected, sliced and haematoxylin-eosin stained. The testicular transcriptome of roosters from the SD and LD groups was determined by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and the results were confirmed using quantitative real-time PCR. The seminiferous tubule area and sperm count increased significantly with the prolongation of photoperiod (p < .01). Additionally, the RNA-Seq results indicated that 387 genes were upregulated and 1,052 genes were downregulated in the LD group compared with those in the SD group. Several crucial genes involved in rooster testicular development and reproduction were also screened, including heat shock proteins 90, extracellular regulated protein kinases 1, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, adenosine 5'-monophosphate -activated protein kinase, BCL-6 and Smad3. The differentially expressed genes were enriched in the mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR), forkhead box (FoxO), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and insulin signalling pathway. In conclusion, a 16 hr photoperiod for 4 weeks increased the seminiferous tubule duct area and promoted spermatogenesis in the rooster's testicles, and the mTOR, FoxO, TGF-β and insulin signalling pathways may be involved.
有关光周期对肉鸡公鸡睾丸转录组影响的信息有限。本研究旨在探讨不同光周期对肉鸡种公鸡睾丸基因表达的影响。将 120 只 20 周龄的 Arbor Acres 肉鸡种公鸡随机分为 3 组（n=40），分别接受以下 3 种不同的光周期处理：对照组（CTR；12.5L:11.5D）、短日组（SD；8L:16D）和长日组（LD；16L:8D）。4 周后，每组随机选择 10 只公鸡进行睾丸解剖，切片后进行苏木精-伊红染色。采用 RNA 测序（RNA-Seq）测定 SD 和 LD 组公鸡的睾丸转录组，并通过定量实时 PCR 进行验证。结果表明，随着光周期的延长，曲细精管面积和精子计数显著增加（p<0.01）。此外，RNA-Seq 结果表明，与 SD 组相比，LD 组有 387 个基因上调，1052 个基因下调。还筛选出了几个与公鸡睾丸发育和生殖相关的关键基因，包括热休克蛋白 90、细胞外调节蛋白激酶 1、磷酸肌醇 3-激酶、腺苷 5'-单磷酸-激活蛋白激酶、BCL-6 和 Smad3。差异表达基因富集在哺乳动物雷帕霉素靶蛋白（mTOR）、叉头框（FoxO）、转化生长因子-β（TGF-β）和胰岛素信号通路中。综上所述，4 周 16 小时的光照周期增加了公鸡睾丸曲细精管管腔面积，促进了精子发生，mTOR、FoxO、TGF-β和胰岛素信号通路可能参与其中。
