ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2018, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2): 253-262.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2018.02.004

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Expression Pattern Analysis of TAC1 and PRLR Genes in Different Reproductive States of Sheep

LI Xiao-yu1, HE Xiao-yun1, LIU Qiu-yue1, WANG Xiang-yu1, GUO Xiao-fei1, XIA Qing1, HU Wen-ping1, ZHANG Xiao-sheng2, ZHANG Jin-long2, CHU Ming-xing1*, DI Ran1*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    2. Tianjin Institute of Animal Sciences, Tianjin 300381, China
  • Received:2017-08-04 Online:2018-02-23 Published:2018-02-23

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to reveal the regulatory roles of TAC1 and PRLR genes in seasonal estrus and transition between reproductive stages of sheep. In this study, the expression patterns of TAC1 and PRLR genes in 10 tissues (hypothalamus, pituitary, pineal body, brain, cerebellum, ovary, uterus, oviduct, kidney, adrenal gland) of adult Sunite (seasonal estrus breed) ewes under different photoperiods and adult Small Tail Han (STH, year-round estrus breed) ewes at different reproductive stages were analyzed by q-PCR method. The results showed that:1) The expression of TAC1 and PRLR genes were detected in all the 10 tissues of the two sheep breeds, and the expression characteristics were basically similar. TAC1 gene was mainly expressed in gonadal axis tissues, and PRLR gene was mainly expressed in pituitary and adrenal gland. 2) The expression of TAC1 and PRLR genes were higher in Sunite tissues under long photoperiod than those under short photoperiod, and for most tissues of STH sheep, the expression levels of the 2 genes were higher in luteal phase than that in follicular phase. 3) The expression level of TAC1 gene in the pituitary was increased slowly from short photoperiod to long photoperiod, and reached the highest level at LP49D, which was significantly higher than short and other long photoperiod points(P<0.01). The PRLR gene expression level in the pituitary of Sunite sheep was significantly increased from LP3D (P<0.05), reaching peak at LP21D; in hypothalamus, the expression level was significantly higher from LP15D (P<0.05) than that short photoperiod, and there was a tendency to continue to rise. These results indicate that TAC1 and PRLR genes may be involved in the regulation of sheep seasonal reproduction and the transition of reproductive stages, and identify the main tissues where the 2 genes may play important roles. Meanwhile this study reveal the expression trend of the 2 genes from short photoperiod to long photoperiod and different response patterns of PRLR gene in pituitary and the hypothalamus.

CLC Number: