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. 2020 Apr 28;21(1):46.
doi: 10.1186/s12863-020-00843-5.

Transcriptome profiling of developing testes and spermatogenesis in the Mongolian horse

Bei Li  1   2   3 , Xiaolong He  4 , Yiping Zhao  1   2   3 , Dongyi Bai  1   2   3 , Ming Du  1   2   3 , Lianjie Song  1   2   3 , Zhuang Liu  1   2   3 , Zhenchen Yin  1   2   3 , Dugarjaviin Manglai  5   6   7
Affiliations

Transcriptome profiling of developing testes and spermatogenesis in the Mongolian horse

Bei Li et al. BMC Genet. .

Abstract

Background: Horse testis development and spermatogenesis are complex physiological processes.

Methods: To study these processes, three immature and three mature testes were collected from the Mongolian horse, and six libraries were established using high-throughput RNA sequencing technology (RNA-Seq) to screen for genes related to testis development and spermatogenesis.

Results: A total of 16,237 upregulated genes and 8,641 downregulated genes were detected in the testis of the Mongolian horse. These genes play important roles in different developmental stages of spermatogenesis and testicular development. Five genes with alternative splicing events that may influence spermatogenesis and development of the testis were detected. GO (Gene ontology) and KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) pathway analyses were performed for functional annotation of the differentially expressed genes. Pathways related to "spermatogenesis," male gamete generation," "spermatid development" and "oocyte meiosis" were significantly involved in different stages of testis development and spermatogenesis.

Conclusion: Genes, pathways and alternative splicing events were identified with inferred functions in the process of spermatogenesis in the Mongolian horse. The identification of these differentially expressed genetic signatures improves our understanding of horse testis development and spermatogenesis.

Keywords: Developing testis; Mongolian horse; RNA-Seq; Spermatogenesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Volcanic map of differentially expressed genes. There were significant differences in the expression of genes indicated by red (up) and green (down) regulation in before sexual maturation (BSM) and after sexual maturation (ASM) samples. No significant differences were observed in the expression of genes indicated by blue. The abscissa represents the fold change of genes in different samples; the ordinate represents the significant statistical difference of gene expression changes. b Venn diagram of gene expression. The sum of the numbers in each large circle represents the total number of genes expressed by each group, and the overlapping part of the circle represents the commonly expressed genes between groups with FPKM > 1. c Differential gene cluster. Overall FPKM hierarchical clustering diagram is based on the log10 (FPKM + 1) value for the normalization of the conversion (scale number) and clustering. Red represents high expression genes, and blue represents low expression genes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The most highly enriched GO terms. The ordinate represents the enriched GO terms, and the abscissa represents the number of differential genes. Different colors were used to distinguish “biological processes,” “cellular components” and “molecular functions.” “*” indicates significant enrichment of GO terms
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Scatter plot of differentially expressed KEGG genes. Note: The vertical axis represents the name of the pathway; the horizontal axis represents the Rich factor. The differential size of the points represents the number of differential expression genes, and the color of points signifies different ranges of Q values
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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