Environmental Health, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan 98, Iran.
Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 31, Iran.
Genes (Basel). 2022 Jul 22;13(8):1295. doi: 10.3390/genes13081295.
Understanding the molecular pattern of fertility is considered as an important step in breeding of different species, and despite the high importance of the fertility, little success has been achieved in dissecting the interactome basis of sheep fertility. However, the complex mechanisms associated with prolificacy in sheep have not been fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to use competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks to evaluate this trait to better understand the molecular mechanisms responsible for fertility. A competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network of the corpus luteum was constructed between Romanov and Baluchi sheep breeds with either good or poor genetic merit for prolificacy using whole-transcriptome analysis. First, the main list of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNA related to the corpus luteum that alter with the breed were extracted, then miRNA−mRNA and lncRNA−mRNA interactions were predicted, and the ceRNA network was constructed by integrating these interactions with the other gene regulatory networks and the protein−protein interaction (PPI). A total of 264 mRNAs, 14 lncRNAs, and 34 miRNAs were identified by combining the GO and KEGG enrichment analyses. In total, 44, 7, 7, and 6 mRNAs, lncRNAs, miRNAs, and crucial modules, respectively, were disclosed through clustering for the corpus luteum ceRNA network. All these RNAs involved in biological processes, namely proteolysis, actin cytoskeleton organization, immune system process, cell adhesion, cell differentiation, and lipid metabolic process, have an overexpression pattern (Padj < 0.01). This study increases our understanding of the contribution of different breed transcriptomes to phenotypic fertility differences and constructed a ceRNA network in sheep (Ovis aries) to provide insights into further research on the molecular mechanism and identify new biomarkers for genetic improvement.
了解生育的分子模式被认为是不同物种繁殖的重要步骤,尽管生育的重要性很高,但在剖析绵羊生育的互作组基础方面几乎没有取得成功。然而,与绵羊多产性相关的复杂机制尚未得到充分理解。因此,本研究旨在使用竞争性内源性 RNA (ceRNA) 网络来评估该性状,以更好地了解负责生育的分子机制。利用全转录组分析,在具有良好或较差繁殖力遗传优势的罗曼诺夫和巴尔胡奇绵羊品种之间构建了黄体的竞争性内源性 RNA (ceRNA) 网络。首先,提取了与黄体改变相关的主要长非编码 RNA (lncRNA)、miRNA 和 mRNA 列表,然后预测了 miRNA-mRNA 和 lncRNA-mRNA 相互作用,并通过将这些相互作用与其他基因调控网络和蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用 (PPI) 整合来构建 ceRNA 网络。通过 GO 和 KEGG 富集分析,共鉴定出 264 个 mRNAs、14 个 lncRNAs 和 34 个 miRNAs。总共通过聚类揭示了黄体 ceRNA 网络的 44、7、7 和 6 个 mRNAs、lncRNAs、miRNAs 和关键模块。所有这些参与生物过程的 RNA,即蛋白酶解、肌动蛋白细胞骨架组织、免疫系统过程、细胞黏附、细胞分化和脂质代谢过程,都表现出过度表达模式(Padj < 0.01)。本研究增加了我们对不同品种转录组对表型生育差异贡献的理解,并构建了绵羊(Ovis aries)的 ceRNA 网络,为进一步研究分子机制提供了思路,并鉴定了遗传改良的新生物标志物。