Reproduction and viscera organ characteristics of MSTN and FGF5 dual-gene knockout sheep

Mingming Chen; Yue Zhao; Yao Li; Tiantian Chen; Wendi Zhou; Xiaosheng Zhang; Shoulong Deng; Xueling Xu; Sujun Wu; Zhimei Liu; Shiyu Qi; Luyu Wang; Yan Li; Kun Yu; Zhengxing Lian

doi:10.3389/fvets.2023.1119312

Reproduction and viscera organ characteristics of MSTN and FGF5 dual-gene knockout sheep

Front Vet Sci. 2023 Mar 31:10:1119312. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1119312. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mingming Chen¹, Yue Zhao¹, Yao Li¹, Tiantian Chen², Wendi Zhou¹, Xiaosheng Zhang³, Shoulong Deng⁴, Xueling Xu¹, Sujun Wu¹, Zhimei Liu¹, Shiyu Qi¹, Luyu Wang¹, Yan Li⁵, Kun Yu¹, Zhengxing Lian¹

Affiliations

¹ Beijing Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Improvement, National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agriculture, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang University, Jiangxi, China.
³ Sheep Breeding Innovation Team, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tianjin, China.
⁴ NHC Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
⁵ Laboratory Animal Center of the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Introduction: Myostatin (MSTN) negatively regulates skeletal muscle development. However, its function in reproductive performance and visceral organs has not been thoroughly investigated. Previously, we prepared a MSTN and fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) double-knockout sheep, which was a MSTN and FGF5 dual-gene biallelic homozygous (MF^-/-) mutant.

Methods: To understand the role of MSTN and FGF5 in reproductive performance and visceral organs, this study evaluated the ejaculation amount, semen pH, sperm motility, sperm density, acrosome integrity, rate of teratosperm, and seminal plasma biochemical indicators in adult MF^-/- rams. We also compared the overall morphology, head, head-neck junction, middle segment and the transection of middle segment of spermatozoa between wildtype (WT) and MF^-/- rams.

Results: Our results showed that the seminal plasma biochemical indicators, sperm structure and all sperm indicators were normal, and the fertilization rate also has no significant difference between WT and MF^-/- rams, indicating that the MF^-/- mutation did not affect the reproductive performance of sheep. Additional analysis evaluated the histomorphology of the visceral organs, digestive system and reproductive system of MF^+/- sheep, the F1 generation of MF^-/-, at the age of 12 months. There was an increased spleen index, but no significant differences in the organ indexes of heart, liver, lung, kidney and stomach, and no obvious differences in the histomorphology of visceral organs, digestive system and reproductive system in MF^+/- compared with WT sheep. No MF^+/- sheep were observed to have any pathological features.

Discussion: In summary, the MSTN and FGF5 double-knockout did not affect reproductive performance, visceral organs and digestive system in sheep except for differences previously observed in muscle and fat. The current data provide a reference for further elucidating the application of MSTN and FGF5 double-knockout sheep.

Keywords: FGF5; MSTN; histomorphology; reproduction; sheep; visceral.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Project of China (2021YFF1000704), Natural Science Foundation of China (32072722), and National Transgenic Creature Breeding Grand Project (2016zx08008-003).