Institute of Animal & Pasture Science and Green Agricultural, Key laboratory for sheep, goat and cattle germplasm and straw feed in Gansu Province, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Science, Lanzhou, China.
School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, China.
Anim Sci J. 2022 Jan-Dec;93(1):e13732. doi: 10.1111/asj.13732.
The first filial generation of the cattleyaks demonstrates hybrid vigor; however, the male cattleyaks are infertile and restrict productivity and breeding. The discovery of genes in a segment-specific approach offers valuable information and understanding concerning fertility status, yet the biology of cattleyak epididymis is still progressing. Comparative transcriptome analysis was performed on segment pairs of cattleyak epididymis. The caput versus corpus epididymis provided the highest (57.8%) differentially expressed genes (DEGs), corpus versus cauda (25.1%) followed, whereas caput versus cauda pair (17.1%) had the least DEGs. The expression levels of genes coding EPHB6, TLR1, MUC20, MT3, INHBB, TRPV5, EI24, PAOX, KIF12, DEPDC5, and KRT25, which might have the potentials to regulate the homeostasis, innate immunity, differentiation, motility, transport, and sperm maturation-related function in epididymal cells, were downregulated in the distal segment of epididymis. Top enriched KEGG pathways included mTOR, axon guidance, and taste transduction signaling pathways. EIF4B, EPHB6, and TAS2R42 were enriched in the pathways, respectively. Identifying key, new, and unexplored DEGs among the epididymal segments and further analyzing them could boost cattleyak fertility by maximizing sperm quality from genetically better sires and also facilitate better understanding of the epididymal biology.
考蒂亚牛第一代杂种具有杂种优势；然而，雄性考蒂亚牛不育，限制了生产力和繁殖。采用片段特异性方法发现的基因提供了有关生育状况的有价值的信息和理解，但考蒂亚牛附睾的生物学仍在发展中。对考蒂亚牛附睾的片段对进行了比较转录组分析。附睾头与体部提供了最高（57.8%）的差异表达基因（DEGs），其次是体部与尾部（25.1%），而附睾头与尾部（17.1%）则具有最少的 DEGs。编码 EPHB6、TLR1、MUC20、MT3、INHBB、TRPV5、EI24、PAOX、KIF12、DEPDC5 和 KRT25 的基因的表达水平在附睾的远侧段下调，这些基因可能具有调节附睾细胞内的内稳态、先天免疫、分化、运动、运输和精子成熟相关功能的潜力。KEGG 途径中富集的基因包括 mTOR、轴突导向和味觉转导信号通路。EIF4B、EPHB6 和 TAS2R42 分别在这些途径中富集。鉴定附睾段之间的关键、新的和未探索的 DEGs，并进一步分析它们，可以通过最大限度地提高来自遗传上更好的父本的精子质量来提高考蒂亚牛的繁殖力，并促进对附睾生物学的更好理解。
