A RNA-Seq Analysis to Describe the Boar Sperm Transcriptome and Its Seasonal Changes

Conclusion We have identified a rich and complex sperm transcriptome with known and novel coding RNAs, lncRNAs and sncRNAs that resembles the human, mouse and cattle counterparts. Their roles are mainly related to the regulation of spermatogenesis, fertility and early embryo development. These spermatozoal transcripts are fragmented, likely in a selective manner, consistently affecting some genes more than others across samples. This suggests that their fragmentation is not stochastic and follows an unknown deterministic pattern with potential functional implications. Similarly, the variability of the transcript abundance between samples was transcript specific. This in-depth transcriptome profile can be used as a reference to identify RNA markers for semen quality and male fertility in pigs and in other animal species. Interestingly, the levels of some transcripts changed between the summer and the winter ejaculates, most likely responding to heat stress, which would in turn, cause oxidative stress, sperm membrane and DNA damage and autophagy. The biological basis of these transcriptome changes needs to be further explored. In the recent years it has become evident that the ejaculate contains different sub-populations of sperm, each with specific roles upon ejaculation. Each of these sub-populations may carry a specific transcriptome profile. Thus, the changes in transcript abundances that we identified may reflect either similar variations on the transcript’s profi...
Source: Frontiers in Genetics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research