Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (3): 225-238. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195752

Special Issue: Animal husbandry

• Animal Husbandry•Fisheries•Veterinarian • Previous Articles    

Whole Transcriptome Sequencing was Used to Explore Genes and miRNAs Related to Spermatogenesis in Blcattle Black Cattle

MA Jiaxu1,2, LIU Ruili1,2, MIAO Xiuping1,2, WANG Xiuyuan1,2, MEI Yanfang1,2, ZHAO Qiuyue1,2, ZOU Lei1,2, XIAO Chaozhu3, ZHANG Renzheng1,2, BAI Xuejin1,2,3, DONG Yajuan1,2   

  1. 1 College of Animal Science and Technology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China
    2 Black Bull Seed Industry Technology Innovation Center, Qingdao 266109, China
    3 Shandong Zhaofu Technology Co., Ltd., Zibo 256306, China
  • Received:2025-01-11 Published:2026-06-28

Abstract:

This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of spermatogenesis and address the decline of semen quality in male animals by analyzing the transcriptome data of the testicles of large and small Blcattle black cattle and mining the key genes and microRNAs(miRNAs)related to spermatogenesis.Six 12-month-old black cattle testicular tissues were collected from Blcattle black cattle as experimental animals,and the testicles were divided into large and small testis groups according to testicular weight,length diameter and short diameter.The whole transcriptome library was constructed,and the differential expression genes(DEGs)were screened with |log2(Fold Change)|≥1 and FDR<1 as the threshold,and the differential expressed microRNAs(DEMs)were screened with |log2(Fold Change)|≥1 and P≤0.05 as the threshold.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis screened the biological items and pathways that affect spermatogenesis,weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA)screened the gene groups associated with testicular traits,integrated protein protein interaction(PPI),and finally screened out candidate genes related to spermatogenesis and predicted to target DEMs.The results showed that a total of 3 935 DEGs(2 049 up-regulated,1 886 down-regulated)were screened in the transcriptome library,and the differentially annotated genes of GO function were significantly enriched in signal transduction and MAPK cascade.KEGG showed that FGFR3,NFKB1,MAP3K5 and TAB1 were significantly enriched in the MAPK cascade and sphingolipid signaling pathway,and 6 762 and 295 genes were strongly correlated with testicular size,respectively.The integration of PPI protein-protein interaction identified 20 differential genes with high connectivity.Combined with the small RNA library,the above four candidate genes were screened for targeting miRNAs,namely FGFR3(Bta-mir-296-5p),NFKB1(Bta-mir-15b),MAP3K5(Bta-mir-375)and TAB1(Bta-mir-15b,Bta-mir-11988 and Bta-mir-7180).Real-time PCR verification showed that the expression levels of Bta-mir-15b,Bta-mir-375,TAB1 and MAP3K5 were higher in the testis,and the expression of other genes and miRNAs was lower in the testis.In summary,20 candidate genes and five candidate miRNAs related to spermatogenesis were screened,among which TAB1 and Bta-mir-15b,MAP3K5 and Bta-mir-375s may be important candidate genes and miRNAs affecting spermatogenesis.

Key words: Blcattle black cattle, Testicles, Transcriptome, mRNA, miRNA

CLC Number: 

Cite this article

MA Jiaxu, LIU Ruili, MIAO Xiuping, WANG Xiuyuan, MEI Yanfang, ZHAO Qiuyue, ZOU Lei, XIAO Chaozhu, ZHANG Renzheng, BAI Xuejin, DONG Yajuan. Whole Transcriptome Sequencing was Used to Explore Genes and miRNAs Related to Spermatogenesis in Blcattle Black Cattle[J]. Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica, 2026, 41(3): 225-238. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195752.

share this article