乏情和发情初产母猪下丘脑–垂体–卵巢轴中lincRNAs表达谱比较分析

Comparison and analysis of lincRNAs expression profile in the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis of anestrous and estrous primiparous sows

初产母猪断奶后能否正常发情对养猪生产影响重大,也是初产母猪被淘汰的主要原因。本研究以乏情和发情初产母猪为研究对象,首次利用RNA-seq技术对其下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴中的基因间长链非编码RNAs(long intergenic noncoding RNAs,lincRNAs)进行筛选比较,得到lincRNAs的表达图谱,并对其特征和功能进行了初步分析。结果显示,在乏情和发情初产母猪下丘脑–垂体–卵巢轴中鉴定得到3519个lincRNAs,以发情组为对照共有17个lincRNAs存在差异表达,其中12个表达上调,5个表达下调(FC≥2,P<0.05)。选择4个差异表达的lincRNAs经qRT-PCR验证,其表达水平与测序结果基本一致。对这17个差异表达的lincRNAs进行GO分析、KEGG通路分析及lincRNA-mRNA共表达网络分析,发现这些lincRNAs主要与猪卵母细胞减数分裂成熟、卵巢细胞分化及颗粒细胞凋亡等生殖活动相关。本研究结果丰富了猪lincRNAs数据资源,为进一步深入研究初产母猪的生殖机能提供了理论依据。

The normal estrus in weaned primiparous sows has a great impact on pig production and abnormal estrus is the main reason for the elimination of primiparous sows.In this study,we studied the long intergenic noncoding RNAs(lincRNAs)in the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis of anestrous and estrous primiparous sows.These long intergenic noncoding RNAs(lincRNAs)were screened and compared through RNA-seq analysis.The expression profiles of lincRNAs were obtained and their characteristics and functions were preliminarily analyzed.There are 3519 novel lincRNAs identified in the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis of anestrous and estrous primiparous sows.Compared with estrous primiparous sows,17 differentially expressed lincRNAs were indentified,including 12 up-regulated lincRNAs and 5 down-regulated lincRNAs(FC≥2,P<0.05).The four lincRNA transcripts obtained through selection were verified by q RT-PCR,which are consistent with the RNA-seq results.The GO,KEGG pathway,and lincRNA-mRNA co-expression network analysis of these 17 lincRNAs revealed that these lincRNAs were mainly involved in reproductive activities,such as oocyte meiosis mature,ovarian cells differentiation and granulosa cells apoptosis.The results enriched the data resources of pig lincRNAs and provided useful information for further research about the reproductive performance of primiparous sows.