BMC Genomics最新文献

Background: Sexual maturation in boars impacts reproductive efficiency in swine production, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying this developmental transition remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the transcriptomic changes in sperm from Duroc boars during sexual maturation, conducting a longitudinal analysis. The total RNA and miRNA profiles from the same individuals (n = 6) at puberty (7.24 ± 0.39 months) and sexual maturity (10 ± 0.40 months) were compared, identifying molecular signatures associated with reproductive development. Total RNA sequencing (Illumina NovaSeq-6000) and miRNA sequencing (Illumina NextSeq-500) were performed on all 12 paired samples (6 boars at 2 time points), followed by differential expression analysis using a paired statistical model in DESeq2 to account for repeated measures.

Results: Differential expression analysis identified 60 differentially expressed genes using stringent criteria (adj P < 0.05, |log₂FC| ≥ 0.5), with 65% upregulated in sperm of boars 10-months versus 7-months of age. Key upregulated genes included NCLN, RGS12, CIB2, FOXP4, PHC1, CDC25B and AKAP1, while HSP90AA1, EVI5, FSIP2, VDAC3, and ALMS1 were key downregulated genes. Furthermore, Gene ontology analysis revealed significant enrichment of 11 biological processes, mostly related to reproductive development, and four molecular functions (transferase activity, transferring phosphorus-containing groups, protein serine/threonine kinase activity, protein kinase activity and signal sequence binding). Additionally, our miRNA analysis identified six differentially abundant miRNAs (adj P < 0.05 & |log₂FC| ≥ 0.5); ssc-miR-193a-5p, ssc-miR-574-3p, ssc-miR-126-3p, ssc-miR-196a, ssc-miR-210 were upregulated, and ssc-miR-338 showed downregulation in 10-months age. Integrated analysis of differentially expressed mRNA and predicted miRNA targets identified 18 miRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs, enriched in pathways related to cell cycle processes and chromatin binding, suggesting coordinated regulation across RNA biotypes in sperm during sexual maturation.

Conclusions: Our study reveals coordinated transcriptomic shifts in boar sperm during sexual maturation. Most genes show increased RNA abundance at 10 months of age, with enrichment in terms of reproductive development. Several miRNAs appear to regulate these changes through targeted mRNA interactions. These findings expand our understanding of the biological processes underlying sexual maturation in pigs.

Background: Pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) significantly reduces the yield and quality of Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa). A key determinant of PHS resistance is the balance between seed dormancy and germination, a process primarily regulated by phytohormones.

Results: To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying hormone-mediated germination regulation, we performed transcriptome sequencing on Jingli 1 quinoa seeds 6 h after treatment with six phytohormones: abscisic acid (ABA), indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), jasmonic acid (JA), gibberellic acid (GA₃), brassinolide (BR), and 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA). The results showed that ABA, IAA, and JA significantly inhibited germination, with a maximum inhibition rate of 36.73%. In contrast, optimal concentrations of GA₃ (45 µM), BR (20 µM), and 6-BA (4.44 µM) promoted germination, with a maximum promotion rate of 22.67%. Transcriptome analysis identified 4,738 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), which were significantly enriched in pathways such as plant hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, and terpenoid backbone biosynthesis. Furthermore, we identified 102 coregulated DEGs, revealing intricate hormone signaling networks (such as ABA-GA-JA and JA-IAA-6-BA). Importantly, we pinpointed 20 core regulatory genes (including CqWRKY33, CqAnxD3, CqbHLH18L, CqMYB-V, CqSES, CqHMGCS, CqMVK1/2, CqCKX7-1/-2, CqWAT1-1/-2, CqORR9/10, CqBNM2AL, CqSAUR72L, CqRAV1L, CqABCG31L, Cq2-ODD, and CqBG7Sg2) that showed antagonistic expression patterns in response to promotive versus inhibitory hormones.

Conclusions: This study systematically elucidates the multi-hormone regulatory network underlying quinoa seed germination, thereby enhancing our understanding of phytohormone-mediated regulatory mechanisms in quinoa. It also identifies promising candidate genes for breeding pre-harvest sprouting (PHS)-resistant quinoa varieties.