Pregnancy induces extensive changes of transcript usage in the goat brain.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Genomics
• Reproductive Biology

Background:

• Gestation induces significant anatomical, histological, and transcriptomic alterations in the maternal brain.
• Understanding these changes is crucial for comprehending maternal adaptations during pregnancy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize RNA transcripts in the goat brain.
• To investigate the impact of 2-month pregnancy on brain transcript usage and alternative splicing.

Main Methods:

• RNA sequencing of brain tissue from pregnant and non-pregnant Murciano-Granadina goats.
• Analysis of transcriptomic data to identify expressed genes and novel transcripts.
• Comparative analysis of transcript usage between pregnant and non-pregnant states.

Main Results:

• Detected 62,185 transcripts from 29,044 genes, with ~60% being novel.
• Identified widespread changes in alternative splicing in pregnant goats.
• 2004 genes showed significant shifts in transcript usage, with the hippocampus exhibiting the most substantial changes (545 genes).

Conclusions:

• Gestation alters brain transcript usage, indicating a role for alternative splicing in maternal adaptation.
• The preferential use of specific gene isoforms is a key mechanism in the brain's adaptive response to pregnancy.