Transcriptome analysis reveals pituitary lncRNA, circRNA and mRNA affecting fertility in high- and low-yielding goats

Shuaixiang Mao; Shucan Dong; Biwei Hou; Yaokun Li; Baoli Sun; Yongqing Guo; Ming Deng; Dewu Liu; Guangbin Liu

doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1303031

Transcriptome analysis reveals pituitary lncRNA, circRNA and mRNA affecting fertility in high- and low-yielding goats

Front Genet. 2023 Dec 12:14:1303031. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1303031. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Shuaixiang Mao¹, Shucan Dong¹, Biwei Hou¹, Yaokun Li¹, Baoli Sun¹, Yongqing Guo¹, Ming Deng¹, Dewu Liu¹, Guangbin Liu¹

Affiliation

¹ College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

The pituitary gland serves as the central endocrine regulator of growth, reproduction, and metabolism and plays a crucial role in the reproductive process of female animals. Transcriptome analysis was conducted using pituitary gland samples from Leizhou goats with varying levels of fecundity to investigate the effects of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), circular RNA (circRNA), and mRNA regulation on pituitary hormone secretion and its association with goat fecundity. The analysis aimed to identify lncRNAs, circRNAs, and mRNAs that influence the fertility of Leizhou goats. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed on differentially expressed lncRNAs, circRNAs, and mRNAs and revealed considerable enrichment in pathways, such as regulation of hormone secretion, germ cell development, and gonadotropin-releasing hormone secretion. The pituitary lncRNAs (ENSCHIT00000010293, ENSCHIT00000010304, ENSCHIT00000010306, ENSCHIT00000010290, ENSCHIT00000010298, ENSCHIT00000006769, ENSCHIT00000006767, ENSCHIT00000006921, and ENSCHIT00000001330) and circRNAs (chicirc_029285, chicirc_026618, chicirc_129655, chicirc_018248, chicirc_122554, chicirc_087101, and chicirc_078945) identified as differentially expressed regulated hormone secretion in the pituitary through their respective host genes. Additionally, differential mRNAs (GABBR2, SYCP1, HNF4A, CBLN1, and CDKN1A) influenced goat fecundity by affecting hormone secretion in the pituitary gland. These findings contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying pituitary regulation of fecundity in Leizhou goats.

Keywords: Leizhou goat; circRNA; fertility; lncRNA; mRNA; pituitary.

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the Forestry Science and Technology Innovation Program of Guangdong Province (2023KJCX004), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2021A1515010636), Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System of Guangdong Province (2023KJ127) and Guangdong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Project (2022-XPY-00-009).