Liang Chen, Han Miaoceng, Zhou Zuyang, Liu Yufang, He Xiaoyun, Jiang Yanting, Ouyang Yina, Hong Qionghua, Chu Mingxing
College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Nov 1;8:747100. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.747100. eCollection 2021.
The hypothalamus was the coordination center of the endocrine system, which played an important role in goat reproduction. However, the molecular mechanism of hypothalamus regulating litter size in goats was still poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the key functional genes associated with prolificacy by hypothalamus transcriptome analysis of goats. In this research, an integrated analysis of microRNAs (miRNAs)-mRNA was conducted using the hypothalamic tissue of Yunshang black goats in the follicular stage. A total of 72,220 transcripts were detected in RNA-seq. Besides, 1,836 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between high fecundity goats at the follicular phase (FP-HY) and low fecundity goats at the follicular phase (FP-LY). DEGs were significantly enriched in 71 Gene Ontology (GO) terms and 8 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. The transcriptome data suggested that DEGs such as and are directly or indirectly involved in many processes like hypothalamic gonadal hormone secretion. The miRNA-seq identified 1,837 miRNAs, of which 28 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs). These DEMs may affect the nerve cells survival of goat hypothalamic regulating the function of target genes and further affect the hormone secretion activities related to reproduction. They were enriched in prolactin signaling pathway, Jak-STAT signaling pathway and GnRH signaling pathway, as well as various metabolic pathways. Integrated analysis of DEMs and DEGs showed that 87 DEGs were potential target genes of 28 DEMs. After constructing a miRNA-mRNA pathway network, we identified several mRNA-miRNAs pairs by functional enrichment analysis, which was involved in hypothalamic nerve apoptosis. For example, was co-regulated by Novel-1187 and Novel-566, as well as another target regulated by Novel-566. These results indicated that these key genes and miRNAs may play an important role in the development of goat hypothalamus and represent candidate targets for further research. This study provides a basis for further explanation of the basic molecular mechanism of hypothalamus, but also provides a new idea for a comprehensive understanding of prolificacy characteristics in Yunshang black goats.
下丘脑是内分泌系统的协调中心,在山羊繁殖中发挥着重要作用。然而,下丘脑调节山羊产仔数的分子机制仍知之甚少。本研究旨在通过山羊下丘脑转录组分析,探究与繁殖力相关的关键功能基因。在本研究中,利用卵泡期云上黑山羊的下丘脑组织进行了微小RNA(miRNA)-信使核糖核酸(mRNA)的综合分析。在RNA测序中总共检测到72,220个转录本。此外,在卵泡期高繁殖力山羊(FP-HY)和卵泡期低繁殖力山羊(FP-LY)之间鉴定出1,836个差异表达基因(DEG)。DEG在71个基因本体论(GO)术语和8条京都基因与基因组百科全书(KEGG)途径中显著富集。转录组数据表明,诸如 和 等DEG直接或间接参与许多过程,如下丘脑性腺激素分泌。miRNA测序鉴定出1,837个miRNA,其中28个差异表达miRNA(DEM)。这些DEM可能影响山羊下丘脑神经细胞存活,调节靶基因功能,并进一步影响与繁殖相关的激素分泌活动。它们在催乳素信号通路、Jak-STAT信号通路和促性腺激素释放激素(GnRH)信号通路以及各种代谢途径中富集。对DEM和DEG的综合分析表明,87个DEG是28个DEM的潜在靶基因。构建miRNA-mRNA通路网络后,通过功能富集分析鉴定出几对参与下丘脑神经细胞凋亡的mRNA-miRNA。例如, 由Novel-1187和Novel-566共同调控,以及另一个由Novel-566调控的靶标 。这些结果表明,这些关键基因和miRNA可能在山羊下丘脑发育中发挥重要作用,并代表进一步研究的候选靶标。本研究为进一步解释下丘脑的基本分子机制提供了依据,也为全面了解云上黑山羊的繁殖特性提供了新思路。