Study on the region-specific expression of epididymis mRNA in the rams

Cuiling Wu; Chunxin Wang; Bo Zhai; Yunhui Zhao; Zhuo Zhao; Zhiyu Yuan; Xuefeng Fu; Mingxin Zhang

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0245933

Study on the region-specific expression of epididymis mRNA in the rams

PLoS One. 2021 Jan 25;16(1):e0245933. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245933. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Cuiling Wu^{1

2

3}, Chunxin Wang², Bo Zhai², Yunhui Zhao², Zhuo Zhao², Zhiyu Yuan², Xuefeng Fu³, Mingxin Zhang²

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, China.
² Branch of Animal Husbandry, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Genetics Breeding and Reproduction of Xinjiang Wool Sheep & Cashmere-Goat, Institute of Animal Science, Xinjiang Academy of Animal Sciences, Urumqi, China.

Abstract

The epididymis is divided into three regions including the caput, corpus and cauda. Gene expression profiles in different regions indicate the different functions of epididymis which are crucial for sperm maturation. In this study, three one-year-old rams was used as the experimental animal. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to sequence mRNA in the caput, corpus and cauda of the epididymis. Based on the spatiotemporal-specific expression pattern in the epididymis, the mRNA expression profiles of the three parts of the epididymis were analysed. Region-specifically expressed genes were analysed by GO and KEGG analyses to screen the key genes involved in sheep sperm maturation. We obtained 129, 54 and 99 specifically expressed genes in the caput, corpus and cauda, respectively. And twenty specific expressed genes related to sperm maturation were used to construct functional networks. The heatmap showed that 6 genes of LCN protein family were highly expressed in the head of epididymis of sheep. We infer that sperm maturation is gradual in the epididymis and that there are significant differences in epididymal gene expression patterns between different species. This provides a data resource for analysing the regulatory mechanism of epididymis genes related to sperm maturation in rams.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Epididymis / metabolism*
Gene Expression Profiling
Male
RNA, Messenger / genetics
RNA, Messenger / metabolism*
Sheep
Sperm Maturation / physiology
Spermatozoa / metabolism*
Transcriptome

Substances

RNA, Messenger

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Science and Technology Department awarded to Xuefeng Fu (Grant Number 2020D01A39) and Jilin Provincial Department of Science and Technology awarded to Chunxin Wang((Grant Number 20190301005NY). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.