Du Yanli, Wei Huang, Li Meiquan, Wang Xiao, Ran Jinshan, Wang Jing, Dong Cuilian, Zhu Na
College of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming 650200, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
J Poult Sci. 2024 Jun 8;61:2024018. doi: 10.2141/jpsa.2024018. eCollection 2024.
Broodiness in egg-laying hens (EHs) leads to ovarian atrophy, resulting in reduced egg-laying performance. However, the ovarian regulatory mechanisms in broody hens (BCs) remain elusive. Therefore, ovaries were removed from 300-day-old BCs and EHs for RNA sequencing. Ovarian morphology and histological characteristics of the BC and EH groups were compared and analyzed. The EH group had significantly more hierarchical follicles (HFs) and small yellow follicles (SYFs) than that of the BC group. Although several secondary follicles (SFs) and primary follicles were observed in the ovaries of the EH group, only a few SFs were observed in the ovaries of the BC group. Subsequently, RNA-sequencing analysis was conducted to determine the ovarian expression profiles of the two groups. Transcriptome sequencing identified 259 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the BC and EH groups. Of the 259 DEGs, 136 were upregulated and 123 were downregulated. The DEGs were mapped to 22 gene ontology terms and 4 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways for ovarian tissue. The analysis showed that matrix metalloproteinases 11/13 (MMP11/MMP13) were enriched in the extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix mediated by MMP13 is affected by follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, and estrogen, which are critical signaling pathways that may affect ovarian follicle development to regulate the large yellow follicle reserve process and the ovulation cycle of broody Chahua chickens. These findings indicate that understanding differences in gene expression between the ovarian tissues of BCs and EHs could serve as a valuable reference point for enhancing egg-laying performance in Chahua chickens.
产蛋母鸡的抱窝行为会导致卵巢萎缩，从而使产蛋性能下降。然而，抱窝母鸡的卵巢调节机制仍不清楚。因此，从300日龄的抱窝母鸡和产蛋母鸡中取出卵巢进行RNA测序。对抱窝母鸡组和产蛋母鸡组的卵巢形态和组织学特征进行了比较和分析。产蛋母鸡组的等级卵泡和小黄卵泡明显多于抱窝母鸡组。虽然在产蛋母鸡组的卵巢中观察到了几个次级卵泡和初级卵泡，但在抱窝母鸡组的卵巢中只观察到了少数次级卵泡。随后，进行RNA测序分析以确定两组的卵巢表达谱。转录组测序在抱窝母鸡组和产蛋母鸡组之间鉴定出259个差异表达基因。在这259个差异表达基因中，136个上调，123个下调。这些差异表达基因被映射到22个基因本体学术语和4条卵巢组织的京都基因与基因组百科全书通路。分析表明，基质金属蛋白酶11/13（MMP11/MMP13）在细胞外基质中富集。由MMP13介导的细胞外基质受促卵泡激素、催乳素和雌激素的影响，这些是可能影响卵巢卵泡发育以调节抱窝茶花鸡大黄卵泡储备过程和排卵周期的关键信号通路。这些发现表明，了解抱窝母鸡和产蛋母鸡卵巢组织之间的基因表达差异可为提高茶花鸡的产蛋性能提供有价值的参考。
