The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in protein expression in the testes of ganders at various breeding stages. A total of nine 3-year-old male White Roman ganders were used. The blood and testis samples were collected at the nonbreeding, sexual reactivation, and breeding stages for sex hormone analysis and proteomic analysis, respectively. The testicular weight and serum testosterone observed for ganders at the breeding stage were higher than those for ganders at nonbreeding and sexual reactivation stages (P < 0.05). There were 124 protein spots differentially expressed in the testes of ganders at various reproductive stages. A total of 107 protein spots of 74 proteins was identified through mass spectrometry. Most of the differentially expressed proteins were responsible for the molecular functions of protein binding (24%) and catalytic activity (16%). A functional pathway analysis suggested that proteins involved in steroidogenesis, metabolism, and spermatogenesis pathways changed in the White Roman geese at various reproductive stages. In conclusion, ganders at various reproductive stages exhibited different levels of testosterone and protein expression in the testes. The varied levels of the proteins might be essential and unique key factors in seasonal reproduction in ganders.
Keywords: Protein expression; White Roman geese; seasonal reproduction; sex hormone; testis.