Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Circular RNAs Associated with Fecundity in the Sheep Hypothalamus with Different FecB Genotypes

Yu He; Si Chen; Xiaofei Guo; Xiaoyun He; Ran Di; Xiaosheng Zhang; Jinlong Zhang; Xiangyu Wang; Mingxing Chu

doi:10.3390/ani14020198

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Differentially Expressed Circular RNAs Associated with Fecundity in the Sheep Hypothalamus with Different FecB Genotypes

Animals (Basel). 2024 Jan 7;14(2):198. doi: 10.3390/ani14020198.

Authors

Yu He¹, Si Chen¹, Xiaofei Guo^{1

2

3}, Xiaoyun He¹, Ran Di¹, Xiaosheng Zhang², Jinlong Zhang², Xiangyu Wang¹, Mingxing Chu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100193, China.
² Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal Molecular Breeding and Biotechnology, Tianjin Engineering Research Center of Animal Healthy Farming, Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Tianjin 300381, China.
³ Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Grassland Farming, Jilin Province Feed Processing and Ruminant Precision Breeding Cross Regional Cooperation Technology Innovation Center, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130102, China.

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a specific type of noncoding RNA, and some have defined roles in cellular and biological processes. However, little is known about the role of circRNAs in follicular development in sheep with FecB (fecundity Booroola) mutations. Here, the expression profiles of circRNAs were investigated using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) in the follicular phase (F) and the luteal phase (L) of FecB mutant homozygous (BB) and wild-type (WW) Small Tail Han sheep. A total of 38,979 circRNAs were identified, and 314, 343, 336, and 296 of them were differentially expressed (DE) between BB_F and BB_L, WW_F and WW_L, BB_F and WW_F, and BB_L and WW_L, respectively. The length, type, and chromosome distribution of the circRNAs and the expression characteristic between the circRNAs and their host genes in the sheep hypothalamus were ascertained. Enrichment analysis showed that the host genes of DE circRNAs in the follicular and luteal phases were annotated to MAPK, gap junctions, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, oocyte meiosis, and other hormone-related signaling pathways, and the different FecB genotypes were annotated to the gap junctions, circadian entrainment, MAPK, and other hormone-related signaling pathways. The competing endogenous RNA network prediction revealed that the 129 target miRNAs might be bound to 336 DE circRNAs. oar_circ_0000523 and oar_circ_0028984, which were specifically expressed during the follicular phase in the BB genotype sheep, probably acted as miRNA sponges involved in the regulation of LH synthesis and secretion. This study reveals the expression profiles and characterization of circRNAs at two phases of follicular development considering different FecB genotypes, thereby providing an improved understanding of the roles of circRNAs in the sheep hypothalamus and their involvement in follicular development and ovulation.

Keywords: FecB; circular RNAs; fecundity; follicular development; hypothalamus; sheep.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (32172704), China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-38), Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of China (CAAS-ZDRW202106 and ASTIP-IAS13), Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (20210101376JC), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M703202), Jilin Province Youth Growth Technology Project (20230508122RC), and Tianjin Science and Technology Plan Project (22ZYCGSN00710),and Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences Financial Seed Industry Innovation Research Project (2023ZYCX011).