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Pei S, Wang Z, Liu Y, Xu Y, Bai J, Li W, Li F, Yue X. Transcriptomic analysis of the HPG axis-related tissues reveals potential candidate genes and regulatory pathways associated with testicular size in Hu sheep. Theriogenology 2024; 216:168-176. [PMID: 38185016 DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2024.01.002] [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: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Testicular size is an excellent proxy for selecting high-fertility rams. The hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis plays an important role in regulating reproductive capacity in vertebrates, while key genes and regulatory pathways within the HPG axis associated with testicular size remain largely unknown in sheep. This study comprehensively compared the transcriptomic profiles in the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis of rams after sexual maturity between the large-testis group (LTG, testicular weight = 454.29 ± 54.24 g) and the small-testis group (STG, testicular weight = 77.29 ± 10.76 g). In total, 914, 795 and 10518 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the hypothalamus, pituitary and testis between LTG and STG, respectively. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses showed that these DEGs were mainly involved in the biological processes of reproduction, biological regulation, and development process. Notably, the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and cAMP signaling pathways, commonly enriched by the DEGs in the hypothalamus and pituitary between two groups, were considered as two key signal pathways regulating testicular development through the HPGs axis. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified two modules that were significantly associated with testicular size, and 97 key genes were selected with high module membership (MM) and gene significance (GS) in these two modules. Finally, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed, and ten genes with the highest degree were represented as hub genes, including FOS, NPY, SST, F2, AGT, NTS, OXT, EDN1, VIP and TAC1. Taken together, these results provide new insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the HPG axis regulating testicular size of Hu sheep.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengwei Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Zhongyu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Yangkai Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Yanli Xu
- Institute of Animal Husbandry Quality Standards, Xinjiang Academy of Animal Science, Urumqi, 830057, China
| | - Jingjing Bai
- Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Extension Station of Wuwei City, Wuwei, 733000, China
| | - Wanhong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Fadi Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China
| | - Xiangpeng Yue
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Research Center of Grassland Industry, Ministry of Education, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China.
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Zhu Y, Pan B, Fei X, Hu Y, Yang M, Yu H, Li J, Xiong X. The Biological Characteristics and Differential Expression Patterns of TSSK1B Gene in Yak and Its Infertile Hybrid Offspring. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13020320. [PMID: 36670860 PMCID: PMC9854725 DOI: 10.3390/ani13020320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the spatially and temporally expressed patterns and biological characteristics of TSSK1B in male yaks and explore the potential correlation between TSSK1B and male sterility of the yak hybrid offspring (termed cattle-yak). First, the coding sequence (CDS) of TSSK1B was cloned by RT-PCR, and bioinformatics analysis was conducted with relevant software. Quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) was employed to detect the expression profile of TSSK1B in various tissues of male adult yaks, the spatiotemporal expression of TSSK1B in different stages of yak testes, and the differential expression of TSSK1B between yak and cattle-yak testes. The cellular localization of TSSK1B was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Furthermore, the methylation status of the TSSK1B promoter region was analyzed by bisulfite-sequencing PCR (BSP). The results showed that TSSK1B was 1235 bp long, including 1104 bp of the CDS region, which encoded 367 amino acids. It was a conserved gene sharing the highest homology with Bos mutus (99.67%). In addition, the bioinformatics analysis revealed that TSSK1B was an unstable hydrophilic protein mainly containing the alpha helix of 34.06% and a random coil of 44.41%, with a transmembrane structure of 29 amino acids long. The RT-qPCR results demonstrated that TSSK1B was specifically expressed in yak testes compared with that in other tissues and especially highly expressed in adult yak testes. On the contrary, TSSK1B was hardly expressed in the testis of adult cattle-yak. IHC confirmed that TSSK1B protein was more strongly expressed in the testes of adult yaks than in their fetal and juvenile counterparts. Interestingly, nearly no expression was observed in the testes of cattle-yak compared with the corresponding testes of yak. Bisulfite-sequencing PCR (BSP) revealed that the methylated CpG sites in the TSSK1B promoter region of cattle-yak was significantly higher than that in the yak. Taken together, this study revealed that TSSK1B was specifically expressed in yak testes and highly expressed upon sexual maturity. Moreover, the rare expression in cattle-yak may be related to the hypermethylation of the promoter region, thereby providing a basis for further studies on the regulatory mechanism of TSSK1B in male cattle-yak sterility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjin Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Reservation and Exploitation of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Bangting Pan
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Reservation and Exploitation of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xixi Fei
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Reservation and Exploitation of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Yulei Hu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Manzhen Yang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Hailing Yu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Jian Li
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Reservation and Exploitation of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
| | - Xianrong Xiong
- Key Laboratory of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Animal Genetic Reservation and Exploitation of Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
- Key Laboratory of Animal Science of National Ethnic Affairs Commission, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
- Correspondence:
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