promotes granulosa cells apoptosis by targeting in broody goose ().

Goose () are highly broody with low egg production, and large number of granulosa cells undergo apoptosis during broodiness. Our previous study has found that was highly abundant in the ovary of goose with broodiness phenotype. However, the mechanism that regulates granulosa cells function remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that broody goose had higher levels of than that in laying goose by qRT-PCR. The dual luciferase reporter assay showed that was identified as a direct target of , which could be negatively regulated by . Furthermore, over-expression of significantly increased the rate of apoptosis and slowed down the proliferation of granulosa cells by inhibiting the expression, whereas the opposite trend was obtained when granulosa cells were supplemented with inhibitors. In addition, mRNA level was lower in goose with a brooding phenotype than that in goose with an egg-laying phenotype. Taken together, the data suggested that regulated granulosa cells apoptosis and brooding behavior by targeting , which not only contribute to reveal the potential mechanism of underlying granulosa cells apoptosis in goose, but also provides an effective strategy to reduce the incidence of broodiness and improve the egg production.