Key Laboratory of Yak Breeding of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730050, China.
Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding on Tibetan Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou, 730050, China.
BMC Genomics. 2024 Sep 2;25(1):824. doi: 10.1186/s12864-024-10716-1.
The Testis is an important reproductive organ in male mammals and the site for spermatogenesis, androgen synthesis, and secretion. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) play an important regulatory role in various biological processes. However, the regulatory role of ncRNAs in the development of yak testes and spermatogenesis remains largely unclear.
In this study, we compared the expression profiles of circular RNAs (circRNAs), microRNAs (miRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in yak testicular tissue samples collected at 6 months (Y6M), 18 months (Y18M), and 4 years (Y4Y). Using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), we observed a significant difference in the expression patterns of ncRNAs in the samples collected at different testicular development stages. Twenty-two differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs, 69 DE miRNAs, and 64 DE mRNAs were detected in Y6M, Y18M, and Y4Y testicular samples, respectively. The results of gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses showed that the source genes of DE circRNAs, predicted target genes of DE miRNAs, and DE mRNAs were specifically associated with signaling pathways and GO terms that were related to sperm synthesis, sperm vitality, and testicular development, such as cell cycle, Wnt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, GnRH signaling pathway, and spermatogenesis. The analysis of the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network revealed that some DE ncRNAs, including miR-574, miR-449a, CDC42, and CYP11A1, among others, may be involved in testicular spermatogenesis. Concurrently, various circRNA-miRNA interaction pairs were observed.
Our findings provide a database of circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs expression profiles in testicular tissue of yaks at different developmental stages and a detailed understanding of the regulatory network of ncRNAs in yak testicular development and provide data that can help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying yak testicular development.
睾丸是雄性哺乳动物的重要生殖器官，是精子发生、雄激素合成和分泌的场所。非编码 RNA（ncRNA）在各种生物过程中发挥着重要的调控作用。然而，ncRNA 在牦牛睾丸发育和精子发生中的调控作用在很大程度上尚不清楚。
本研究比较了 6 月龄（Y6M）、18 月龄（Y18M）和 4 岁（Y4Y）牦牛睾丸组织样本中环状 RNA（circRNA）、微小 RNA（miRNA）和信使 RNA（mRNA）的表达谱。通过 RNA 测序（RNA-Seq），我们观察到不同睾丸发育阶段样本中 ncRNA 的表达模式存在显著差异。在 Y6M、Y18M 和 Y4Y 睾丸样本中分别检测到 22 个差异表达（DE）circRNA、69 个 DE miRNA 和 64 个 DE mRNA。基因本体（GO）和京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）分析的结果表明，DE circRNA 的来源基因、DE miRNA 的预测靶基因和 DE mRNA 与信号通路和 GO 术语特异性相关，这些术语与精子合成、精子活力和睾丸发育有关，如细胞周期、Wnt 信号通路、MAPK 信号通路、促性腺激素释放激素信号通路和精子发生。circRNA-miRNA-mRNA 网络分析表明，一些 DE ncRNA，包括 miR-574、miR-449a、CDC42 和 CYP11A1 等，可能参与了睾丸精子发生。同时，观察到各种 circRNA-miRNA 相互作用对。
本研究提供了牦牛不同发育阶段睾丸组织中 circRNA、miRNA 和 mRNA 表达谱的数据库，并详细了解了 ncRNA 在牦牛睾丸发育中的调控网络，为阐明牦牛睾丸发育的分子机制提供了数据。
