Genome-Wide Gene Expression Profiles Reveal Distinct Molecular Characteristics of the Goose Granulosa Cells

Granulosa cells (GCs) are decisive players in follicular development. In this study, the follicle tissues and GCs were isolated from the goose during the peak-laying period to perform hematoxylin-eosin staining and RNA-seq, respectively. Moreover, the dynamic mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles and mRNA-lncRNA network analysis were integrated to identify the important genes and lncRNAs. The morphological analysis showed that the size of the GCs did not significantly change, but the thickness of the granulosa layer cells differed significantly across the developmental stages. Subsequently, 14,286 mRNAs, 3,956 lncRNAs, and 1,329 TUCPs (transcripts with unknown coding potential) were detected in the GCs. We identified 37 common DEGs in the pre-hierarchical and hierarchical follicle stages, respectively, which might be critical for follicle development. Moreover, 3,089 significant time-course DEGs (Differentially expressed genes) and 13 core genes in 4 clusters were screened during goose GCs development. Finally, the network lncRNA G8399 with CADH5 and KLF2, and lncRNA G8399 with LARP6 and EOMES were found to be important for follicular development in GCs. Thus, the results would provide a rich resource for elucidating the reproductive biology of geese and accelerate the improvement of the egg-laying performance of geese.