Transcriptomic analysis of different stages of pigeon ovaries by RNA‐sequencing

Abstract

The pigeon ovary is an ideal model for deciphering the molecular mechanism of folliculogenesis. While most analysis has focused on the influence of hormones and factors on ovarian follicle development in this model, changes occurring in the ovarian stroma can also be extremely informative. Here, we profiled the transcriptome of pigeon ovaries at pre-ovulation, post-ovulation, and 5-6 days after ovulation using RNA-sequencing to gain insights into the molecular and cellular events mediating ovary activity. We obtained 44,784,505 clean reads that aligned with 14,088 genes. Gene expression profile analysis identified 409 differentially expressed genes between pre- and post-ovulation; 96 genes were up-regulated genes while 313 genes were down-regulated. Gene ontology analysis of the down-regulated genes revealed significant enrichment in components of the immune response, immune system, antigen processing and presentation, receptor binding, and biological adhesion. Pathway analyses of the high-expression genes of the post-ovulation ovary identified enrichment in phagosomes, lysosomes, cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, cell adhesion molecules, and the Toll-like receptor signaling. These data together suggest that post-ovulatory follicle regression and elimination occurs through an immune response. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 640-648, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transcriptome analyses to reveal the dynamic change mechanism of pigeon magnum during one egg‐laying cycle

“…Considering the characteristics of hen laying, the regressing tract model is usually obtained by controlling the hen's diet (Jeong et al, 2013; J. Y. Yu & Marquardt, 1973); however, pigeons have a two‐egg clutch and only need approximately 10–20 days before the next reproduction cycle (Xu et al, 2016). In the clutch, rather than being caused by man‐made interferences, the reproductive tract naturally undergoes a reproductive cycle consisting of developing, developed, and regressing stages.…”

Transcriptomic Analysis for Differentially Expressed Genes in Ovarian Follicle Activation in the Zebrafish

“…In contrast to mammalian models, similar studies are limited in non-mammalian species. In the pigeon, pre-ovulatory and post-ovulatory ovaries were analyzed for transcriptomes, and more than 400 DEGs were identified ( 52 ). In teleosts, a few studies on ovarian transcriptomes have been reported using subtractive hybridization, serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE), microarray, or RNA-seq.…”

Avian transcriptomics: opportunities and challenges

“…In this framework, transcriptomic data are compared between embryos or organs during their development in different species (Pantalacci and Sémon 2015), including birds (Chen et al 2016;Xu et al 2016). By comparing the transcriptome between pigeon ovaries pre-and post-ovulation, Xu et al (2016) investigated what changes occurred in the gene expression profiles during different stages of ovulation. The authors found that immune genes were enriched in the transcriptome of the post-ovulation stroma.…”

“…The authors found that immune genes were enriched in the transcriptome of the post-ovulation stroma. This suggests that the immune response is at least partly responsible for post-ovulatory follicle regression and elimination (Xu et al 2016).…”