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Differentially expressed microRNAs between cattleyak and yak testis
Chuanfei Xu1, Shixin Wu1, Wangsheng Zhao1
1School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, 621010, Sichuan, China.
Scientific Reports
|January 14, 2018
Summary
Male cattleyak infertility, caused by spermatogenic arrest, may be linked to differing microRNA (miRNA) expression. This study identified differentially expressed miRNAs in cattleyak, offering insights into impaired spermatogenesis.
Area of Science:
- Animal breeding
- Genetics
- Reproductive biology
Background:
- Cattleyak hybrids show high performance but suffer from male infertility due to spermatogenic arrest.
- Understanding post-transcriptional regulation differences, particularly involving microRNAs (miRNAs), is crucial for addressing this infertility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify differentially expressed known and novel miRNAs in cattleyak compared to yak.
- To investigate the potential roles of these miRNAs and their targets in cattleyak spermatogenic arrest.
Main Methods:
- High-throughput sequencing (Illumina HISeq) to identify miRNAs.
- Bioinformatic analysis to predict miRNA targets.
- Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses.
- Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for validation.
Main Results:
- Identified 50 differentially expressed known miRNAs and 11 novel miRNAs.
- Predicted 50 target sites for known miRNAs and 30 for novel miRNAs.
- GO and KEGG analyses suggested functions of target genes involved in spermatogenesis regulation.
- RT-qPCR validated the expression of several DE miRNAs and their targets.
Conclusions:
- The identified differentially expressed miRNAs are potentially involved in the spermatogenic arrest observed in male cattleyak.
- These findings provide valuable molecular insights into cattleyak male infertility and may aid breeding strategies.
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