Du Yanli, Zi Xiannian, Wang Kun, Ran Jinshan, Xiang Hanyi, Lei Li, Liu Yong
College of Agronomy and Life Sciences, Kunming University, Kunming 650200, China.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China.
Anim Biosci. 2025 Apr 11. doi: 10.5713/ab.24.0861.
The development of pre-hierarchical follicles (PHFs), especially small yellow follicles (SYFs), directly affects the recruitment of dominant follicles and thus affects the egg-laying performance of chickens. However, the development of PHFs, especially SYFs, and their regulatory mechanism remain unclear.
We performed transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of large white follicles (LWFs) and SYFs in chickens.
Transcriptome sequencing revealed 258 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between SYFs and LWFs, of which 172 were upregulated and 86 were downregulated. The DEGs were mapped to 17 KEGG pathways, including Glutathione metabolism, Ferroptosis, Calcium signaling pathway, and Neuroactive ligand-receptor interactions, etc. The metabolome analysis revealed 129 significant differential metabolites (DMs), including 36 upregulated DMs and 93 downregulated DMs. The DMs were mapped to nine KEGG pathways, including Glutathione metabolism, alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism, and Linoleic acid metabolism, etc. The combined transcriptional and metabolic analysis revealed significantly enriched pathways. Five KEGG pathways associated with follicular development were identified, including Glutathione metabolism, Ferroptosis, alpha-Linolenic acid metabolism, Linoleic acid metabolism, and Pyrimidine metabolism.
Glutathione metabolism may directly inhibit Ferroptosis, which can induce apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs), thereby regulating SYFs development in chickens. These findings provided a reference for improving the egg-laying performance of Tengchong snow chickens.
前等级卵泡（PHFs）尤其是小黄卵泡（SYFs）的发育直接影响优势卵泡的募集，进而影响鸡的产蛋性能。然而，PHFs尤其是SYFs的发育及其调控机制尚不清楚。
我们对鸡的大白卵泡（LWFs）和SYFs进行了转录组学和代谢组学分析。
转录组测序显示SYFs和LWFs之间有258个差异表达基因（DEGs），其中172个上调，86个下调。这些DEGs被映射到17条KEGG通路，包括谷胱甘肽代谢、铁死亡、钙信号通路和神经活性配体-受体相互作用等。代谢组分析显示有129种显著差异代谢物（DMs），包括36种上调的DMs和93种下调的DMs。这些DMs被映射到9条KEGG通路，包括谷胱甘肽代谢、α-亚麻酸代谢和亚油酸代谢等。转录组和代谢组联合分析揭示了显著富集的通路。鉴定出5条与卵泡发育相关的KEGG通路，包括谷胱甘肽代谢、铁死亡、α-亚麻酸代谢、亚油酸代谢和嘧啶代谢。
谷胱甘肽代谢可能直接抑制铁死亡，铁死亡可诱导颗粒细胞（GCs）凋亡，从而调节鸡的SYFs发育。这些发现为提高腾冲雪鸡的产蛋性能提供了参考。
