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Hong R, Wu J, Chen X, Zhang Z, Liu X, Li M, Zuo F, Zhang GW. mRNA-Seq of testis and liver tissues reveals a testis-specific gene and alternative splicing associated with hybrid male sterility in dzo. J Anim Sci 2024; 102:skae091. [PMID: 38551023 PMCID: PMC11135213 DOI: 10.1093/jas/skae091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Alternative splicing (AS) plays an important role in the co-transcription and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression during mammalian spermatogenesis. The dzo is the male F1 offspring of an interspecific hybrid between a domestic bull (Bos taurus ♂) and a yak (Bos grunniens ♀) which exhibits male sterility. This study aimed to identify the testis-specific genes and AS associated with hybrid male sterility in dzo. The iDEP90 program and rMATS software were used to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEG) and differential alternative splicing genes (DSG) based on RNA-seq data from the liver (n = 9) and testis (n = 6) tissues of domestic cattle, yak, and dzo. Splicing factors (SF) were obtained from the AmiGO2 and the NCBI databases, and Pearson correlation analysis was performed on the differentially expressed SFs and DSGs. We focused on the testis-specific DEGs and DSGs between dzo and cattle and yak. Among the top 3,000 genes with the most significant variations between these 15 samples, a large number of genes showed testis-specific expression involved with spermatogenesis. Cluster analysis showed that the expression levels of these testis-specific genes were dysregulated during mitosis with a burst downregulation during the pachynema spermatocyte stage. The occurrence of AS events in the testis was about 2.5 fold greater than in the liver, with exon skipping being the major AS event (81.89% to 82.73%). A total of 74 DSGs were specifically expressed in the testis and were significantly enriched during meiosis I, synapsis, and in the piRNA biosynthesis pathways. Notably, STAG3 and DDX4 were of the exon skipping type, and DMC1 was a mutually exclusive exon. A total of 36 SFs were significantly different in dzo testis, compared with cattle and yak. DDX4, SUGP1, and EFTUD2 were potential SFs leading to abnormal AS of testis-specific genes in dzo. These results show that AS of testis-specific genes can affect synapsis and the piRNA biosynthetic processes in dzo, which may be important factors associated with hybrid male sterility in dzo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Hong
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Jiaxin Wu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Xining Chen
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Zhenghao Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Xinyue Liu
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Meichen Li
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Fuyuan Zuo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
- Beef Cattle Engineering and Technology Research Center of Chongqing, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
| | - Gong-Wei Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
- Beef Cattle Engineering and Technology Research Center of Chongqing, Southwest University, Rongchang, 402460 Chongqing, China
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Song H, Wang L, Chen D, Li F. The Function of Pre-mRNA Alternative Splicing in Mammal Spermatogenesis. Int J Biol Sci 2020; 16:38-48. [PMID: 31892844 PMCID: PMC6930371 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.34422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Alternative pre-mRNA splicing plays important roles in co-transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression functioned during many developmental processes, such as spermatogenesis. The studies focusing on alternative splicing on spermatogenesis supported the notion that the development of testis is regulated by a higher level of alternative splicing than other tissues. Here, we aim to review the mechanisms underlying alternative splicing, particularly the splicing variants functioned in the process of spermatogenesis and the male infertility. There are five points regarding the alternative splicing including ⅰ) a brief introduction of alternative pre-mRNA splicing; ⅱ) the alternative splicing events in spermatogenesis-associated genes enriched in different stages of spermatogenesis; ⅲ) the mechanisms of alternative splicing regulation, such as splicing factors and m6A demethylation; ⅳ) the splice site recognition and alternative splicing, including the production and degradation of abnormal transcripts caused by gene variations and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, respectively; ⅴ) abnormal alternative splicing correlated with male infertility. Taking together, this review highlights the impacts of alternative splicing and splicing variants in mammal spermatogenesis and provides new insights of the potential application of the alternative splicing into the therapy of male infertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huibin Song
- Key Lab of Swine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs & Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Ling Wang
- Key Lab of Swine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs & Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Dake Chen
- Key Lab of Swine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs & Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, PR China
| | - Fenge Li
- Key Lab of Swine Genetics and Breeding of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs & Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, PR China.,The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, PR China
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