China Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine ›› 2021, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (10): 3660-3669.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2021.10.017

• Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Identification of circRNA Related to Male Reproduction in Pig Testis

LIU Rui1,2, LI Jiangling1,2, CHEN Xiaohui1,2, ZHAO Sujun1,2, WANG Qiushi1,2, HE Zhiping1,2, WANG Yuping3   

  1. 1. Sichuan Animal Sciences Academy, Chengdu 610066, China;
    2. Animal Breeding and Genetics Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610066, China;
    3. Sichuan Animal Feed General Station, Chengdu 610041, China
  • Received:2021-03-01 Online:2021-10-20 Published:2021-09-30

Abstract: In order to study the differential expression of circRNA in Duroc and Yorkshire testis, a specific porcine testis circRNA library for sequencing was prepared using ribosomal RNA (rRNA) depletion and liner RNA digested method, and then sequenced on an Illumina PE150 platform. After quality control, comparison and splicing the sequencing data were obtained for subsequent analysis. The bioinformatics package find_circ and CIRI were used to identify circRNA and count the number of reads to obtain the cricRNA expression profile of porcine testis. Differential expression analysis of two groups was performed using the DESeq2 and then enrichment of those different expression circRNAs to screen which associate with male reproduction. The results showed that there was abundant expression of circRNA in testis. A total of 21 743 circRNAs were identified, and 632 circRNAs were significant differentially expressed in Duroc and Yorkshire pigs(|log2(FoldChange)|>1, P<0.05), 281 circRNAs up regulated and 351 circRNAs down regulated in Duroc pigs. The enrichment of difference expressed circRNA showed that there were 52 GO terms related to reproduction, and 9 of them related to male reproduction. 6 circRNAs related to male reproduction (circ_0030058, circ_0009504, circ_00178101, circ_0019933, circ_0033379 and circ_0017932) were screened out and they might take part in spermatogonia differentiation, spermatogenesis and sperm cell development. In conclusion, testis of Duroc and Yorkshire boars possess differentially expressed circRNA, which might be involved in spermatogenesis, and could also be used as biomarkers to predict boar fertility.

Key words: pig; testis; circRNA; spermatogenesis; male reproduction

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