Quantitative proteomics analysis to assess protein expression levels in the ovaries of pubescent goats

Ping Qin; Jing Ye; Xinbao Gong; Xu Yan; Maosen Lin; Tao Lin; Tong Liu; Hailing Li; Xiujuan Wang; Yanyun Zhu; Xiaoqian Li; Ya Liu; Yunsheng Li; Yinghui Ling; Xiaorong Zhang; Fugui Fang

doi:10.1186/s12864-022-08699-y

Quantitative proteomics analysis to assess protein expression levels in the ovaries of pubescent goats

BMC Genomics. 2022 Jul 13;23(1):507. doi: 10.1186/s12864-022-08699-y.

Authors

Ping Qin^#^{1

2}, Jing Ye^#^{1

2}, Xinbao Gong^{1

2}, Xu Yan^{1

2}, Maosen Lin^{1

2}, Tao Lin^{1

2}, Tong Liu^{1

2}, Hailing Li^{1

2}, Xiujuan Wang³, Yanyun Zhu¹, Xiaoqian Li¹, Ya Liu^{1

2}, Yunsheng Li^{1

2}, Yinghui Ling², Xiaorong Zhang^{1

2}, Fugui Fang^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Veterinary Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 Changjiang West Road, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China.
² Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Local Livestock and Poultry, Genetical Resource Conservation and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China.
³ Animal Husbandry Development Center, Huoqiu Animal Health Supervision Institute, Huoqiu County, Auditorium Road, Luan, 237400, Anhui, China.
⁴ Department of Animal Veterinary Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 Changjiang West Road, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China. fgfang@ahau.edu.cn.
⁵ Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Local Livestock and Poultry, Genetical Resource Conservation and Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China. fgfang@ahau.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Changes in the abundance of ovarian proteins play a key role in the regulation of reproduction. However, to date, no studies have investigated such changes in pubescent goats. Herein we applied isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to analyze the expression levels of ovarian proteins in pre-pubertal (n = 3) and pubertal (n = 3) goats.

Results: Overall, 7,550 proteins were recognized; 301 (176 up- and 125 downregulated) were identified as differentially abundant proteins (DAPs). Five DAPs were randomly selected for expression level validation by Western blotting; the results of Western blotting and iTRAQ analysis were consistent. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis indicated that DAPs were enriched in olfactory transduction, glutathione metabolism, and calcium signaling pathways. Besides, gene ontology functional enrichment analysis revealed that several DAPs enriched in biological processes were associated with cellular process, biological regulation, metabolic process, and response to stimulus. Protein-protein interaction network showed that proteins interacting with CDK1, HSPA1A, and UCK2 were the most abundant.

Conclusions: We identified 301 DAPs, which were enriched in olfactory transduction, glutathione metabolism, and calcium signaling pathways, suggesting the involvement of these processes in the onset of puberty. Further studies are warranted to more comprehensively explore the function of the identified DAPs and aforementioned signaling pathways to gain novel, deeper insights into the mechanisms underlying the onset of puberty.

Keywords: Anhui white goats; Differentially abundant proteins; LC–MS/MS; PPI network; Proteomics; Pubertal onset; iTRAQ.

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Glutathione
Goats*
Ovary
Proteomics* / methods
Sexual Maturation

Substances

Glutathione