The Roles of the miRNAome and Transcriptome in the Ovine Ovary Reveal Poor Efficiency in Juvenile Superovulation

Abstract

Juvenile superovulation can provide a wealth of oocyte material for embryo production, animal cloning, and genetic modification research, but embryos derived from juvenile oocytes show poor efficiency in subsequent developmental capacity. In order to reveal the formation mechanism of large numbers of follicles and poor oocyte quality in juvenile ovaries under superovulation treatment, differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were characterized and investigated in the ovaries of lambs and adult sheep using high-throughput sequencing technology. The majority of differentially expressed miRNAs (337/358) were upregulated in lamb libraries. The expression levels of mRNAs related to hormone receptors (follicle-stimulating hormone receptor, FSHR; luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor, LHCGR; estrogen receptor 1, ESR1), steroid hormone secretion (cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1, CYP11A1; cytochrome P450 family 17 subfamily A member 1, CYP17A1; cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A member 1, CYP19A1), and oocyte quality (pentraxin 3, PTX3; BCL2 apoptosis regulator, BCL2; caspase 3, CASP3) were significantly different between the lamb and adult libraries. The miRNA aor-miR-143, which targets FSHR, was highly and differentially expressed, and PTX3 was predicted to be targeted by oar-miR-485-3p and oar-miR-377-3p in the ovine ovary. A considerable number of miRNAs were predicted to inhibit ESR1 expression in lamb ovaries. In conclusion, oar-miR-143 and FSHR molecules, among others, might regulate follicle formation, and oar-miR-485-3p, oar-miR-377-3p, and PTX3, among others, may be associated with oocyte quality. These identified miRNAs and mRNAs will be beneficial for the prediction of ovarian superovulation potential and screening of oocytes.

Single-cell RNA-seq reveals the effects of the FecB mutation on the transcriptome profile in ovine cumulus cells

“…In the present study, we further isolated cumulus cells from the Graafian follicles as subjects for single-cell transcriptome analysis, which allowed www.nature.com/scientificreports/ us to clearly elucidate the transcriptional regulatory effects of the FecB gene mutation in cumulus cells. To achieve this goal, and based on previous work on follicle synchronization and superstimulation 40 , we generated preovulatory follicles, aspirated the follicular fluid and rigorously acquired cumulus cells via mouth pipetting and hyaluronidase in vitro. Nonetheless, in the process of single-cell sampling and separation, other cell types remained mixed with the target cells.…”

Screening of Differentially Expressed Genes and miRNAs in Hypothalamus and Pituitary Gland of Sheep under Different Photoperiods

“…Among them, miR-200a is a member of the miR-200 family, which is associated with ovarian development in goats [ 37 ]. One study showed that miR-494-3p significantly inhibited apoptosis of endometrial epithelial cells [ 38 ], and oar-miR-485-3p can regulate the developmental quality of oocytes [ 39 ]. From the above, we can speculate that DEMs target and regulate genes related to reproductive estrus, which may be responsible for the reproductive variation in sheep due to different photoperiodic changes.…”

Photoperiods induced the circRNA differential expression in the thyroid gland of OVX+E2 ewes

“…Oar_circ_0002617, oar_circ_0003812, oar_circ_0004281 and oar_circ_0009083 are competitive endogenous RNAs of oar-miR-377-3p. Oar-miR-377-3p is related to oocyte quality, this can directly affect the ability of the embryo to develop ( 64 ). Oar-miR-181a, oar-miR-432 and oar-miR-495-3p were identified to be associated with reproductive function ( 42 , 65 ).…”