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. 2023 Apr 27:10:1167758.
doi: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1167758. eCollection 2023.

Transcriptome sequencing reveals the effects of circRNA on testicular development and spermatogenesis in Qianbei Ma goats

Wen Tang  1   2 , Qiang Hou Xu  1   2   3   4 , Xiang Chen  2   3   4 , Wei Guo  2   3   4 , Zheng Ao  2   3   4 , Kaibin Fu  2   3   4 , Taotao Ji  2   3   4 , Yue Zou  2   3   4 , Jing Jia Chen  2   3   4 , Yuan Zhang  2   3   4
Affiliations

Transcriptome sequencing reveals the effects of circRNA on testicular development and spermatogenesis in Qianbei Ma goats

Wen Tang et al. Front Vet Sci. .

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an important role in regulating the mammalian reproductive system, especially testicular development and spermatogenesis. However, their functions in testicular development and spermatogenesis in the Qianbei Ma goat, the Guizhou endemic breed are still unclear. In this study, tissue sectioning and circRNAs transcriptome analysis were conducted to compare the changes of morphology and circular RNAs gene expression profile at four different developmental stages (0Y, 0-month-old; 6Y, 6-month-old; 12Y, 12-month-old; 18Y, 18-month-old). The results showed that the circumferences and area of the seminiferous tubule gradually increased with age, and the lumen of the seminiferous tubule in the testis differentiated significantly. 12,784 circRNAs were detected from testicular tissues at four different developmental stages by RNA sequencing, and 8,140 DEcircRNAs (differentially expressed circRNAs) were found in 0Y vs. 6Y, 6Y vs. 12Y, 12Y vs. 18Y and 0Y vs. 18Y, 0Y vs. 12Y, 6Y vs. 18Y Functional enrichment analysis of the source genes showed that they were mainly enriched in testicular development and spermatogenesis. In addition, the miRNAs and mRNAs associated with DECircRNAs in 6 control groups were predicted by bioinformatics, and 81 highly expressed DECircRNAs and their associated miRNAs and mRNAs were selected to construct the ceRNA network. Through functional enrichment analysis of the target genes of circRNAs in the network, some candidate circRNAs related to testicular development and spermatogenesis were obtained. Such as circRNA_07172, circRNA_04859, circRNA_07832, circRNA_00032 and circRNA_07510. These results will help to reveal the mechanism of circRNAs in testicular development and spermatogenesis, and also provide some guidance for goat reproduction.

Keywords: Qianbei Ma goats; ceRNA; circRNA; spermatogenesis; testicular development.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HE staining of testicular tissue from rams at different months of age. SC: supporting cells. Spg: spermatogonia. Spc: spermatocytes. LC: Leydig cells. Sz: spermatozoa.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Qianbei Ma Goat testicular circRNAs. (A) CircRNAs from distinct genomic sites. (B) Length distributions of the known circRNAs. (C) Chromosome distribution map of circRNAs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of differential expression analysis of annotated circRNAs. (A) Number of DEcircRNAs in different control groups. (B) Wayne diagram of DEcircRNAs in different control groups.
Figure 4
Figure 4
circRNA RT–qPCR validation and Sanger sequencing. (A) Comparison of qPCR and RNA-seq results for 10 circRNAs. (B) Circular junctions were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.
Figure 5
Figure 5
GO annotation and KEGG enrichment analysis of differential circRNA source genes in different control groups. (A) 0Y vs. 6Y, (B) 6Y vs. 12Y, (C) 12Y vs. 18Y, (D) 0Y vs. 18Y, (E) 0Y vs. 12Y, and (F) 6Y vs. 18Y; 0Y, 6Y, 12Y and 18Y refer to October, June, December and August, respectively.
Figure 6
Figure 6
ceRNA network. (A) The ceRNA network related to testicular development and spermatogenesis in goats. (B) Enrichment analysis of genes in the ceRNA network by GO and KEGG.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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