Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2023, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (12): 5077-5090.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2023.12.018

• ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND REPRODUCTION • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Mining Key Candidate Genes for High Reproduction Performance of Huai Goats Based on Transcriptome Sequencing

HAN Haoyuan1, LI Shikai1,2, YANG Ruiqiao1, LI Manman1, LI Jun1, HA Si1, ZHAO Jinyan1, WEI Hongfang1, QUAN Kai1*   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Animal Husbandry and Economics, Zhengzhou 450046, China;
    2. College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
  • Received:2023-06-29 Online:2023-12-23 Published:2023-12-26

Abstract: The study aimed to explore molecular regulatory mechanism and genes regulatory network of goat reproductive traits. In this study, 3-year-old healthy ewes of 3rd parity with similar body size were selected. According to the reproductive performance records, 3 ewes with 1 lamb on average were collected as single-lamb group, and 3 ewes with more than 2 lambs on average were collected as multi-lamb group. Transcriptome sequencing technology was used to construct mRNA library, screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and conduct functional enrichment analysis between single-lamb group and multi-lamb group. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR was used to verify gene expression. Six mRNA libraries of ovarian tissues from Huai goats were constructed, with a total number of 41 163 239 raw reads and 37 908 182 clean reads on average. A total of 121 DEGs were found between single-lamb group and multi-lamb group (P<0.05), including 30 up-regulated genes and 91 down-regulated genes. The expressions of PTX3, MMP13, PAK1, ADAMTS1, COL1A2, CCN1, SLC4A10, FOS, NR4A1, NR4A2 and ADCY8 genes were significantly differentially expressed between single-lamb group and multi-lamb group (P<0.05). And these 11 DEGs were involved in the organs development and the secretion of aldosterone, cortisol, oxytocin and adrenocorticotropic hormone in the endocrine system. A total of 236 SNPs were screened in the above 11 DEGs. Seven SNPs were nonsynonymous mutations, among which, 4 SNPs were detected in ADAMTS1 gene, one was in PTX3 gene, and two were in CCN1 gene. The results showed that the expression of 11 genes were significantly different between single-lamb group and multi-lamb group. These DEGs were involved tissues and organs development and hormone secretion in endocrine system. These DEGs may be related to goat follicular development, ovulation and steroid hormone secretion. The results will provide scientific basis for elucidating the genetic mechanism of high fecundity of Huai goat.

Key words: Huai goat, lambing number, transcriptome, differentially expressed genes

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