Transcriptome Sequencing-Based Mining of Genes Associated With Pubertal Initiation in Dolang Sheep

Citations Over TimeTop 11% of 2022 papers

Abstract

Improving the fertility of sheep is an important goal in sheep breeding as it greatly increases the productivity. Dolang sheep is a typical representative breed of lamb in Xinjiang and is the main local sheep breed and meat source in the region. To explore the genes associated with the initiation of puberty in Dolang sheep, the hypothalamic tissues of Dolang sheep prepubertal, pubertal, and postpubertal periods were collected for RNA-seq analysis on the Illumina platform, generating 64.08 Gb clean reads. A total of 575, 166, and 648 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected in prepuberty_vs._puberty, postpuberty_vs._prepuberty, and postpuberty_vs._puberty analyses, respectively. Based on Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses, the related genes involved in the initiation of puberty in Dolang sheep were mined. Ten genes that have direct or indirect functions in the initiation of puberty in Dolang sheep were screened using the GO and KEGG results. Additionally, quantitative real-time PCR was used to verify the reliability of the RNA-Seq data. This study provided a new approach for revealing the mechanism of puberty initiation in sheep and provided a theoretical basis and candidate genes for the breeding of early-pubertal sheep by molecular techniques, and at the same time, it is also beneficial for the protection, development, and utilization of the fine genetic resources of Xinjiang local sheep.

Related Papers

• → KIF2C affects sperm cell differentiation in patients with Klinefelter syndrome, as revealed by RNA‐Seq and scRNA‐Seq data(2022)12 cited
• → Transcriptome analysis of maize reveals potential key genes involved in the response to belowground herbivore Holotrichia parallela larvae feeding(2019)18 cited
• → Transcriptomic Analysis of Mating Responses in Bemisia tabaci MED Females(2020)13 cited
• → RNA Sequencing of the Pituitary Gland and Association Analyses Reveal PRKG2 as a Candidate Gene for Growth and Carcass Traits in Chinese Ningdu Yellow Chickens(2022)7 cited
• → RNA sequencing of kidney and liver transcriptome obtained from wild cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis) originating from Peninsular Malaysia(2018)2 cited