Transcriptome analysis of the hypothalamus and testes in Brandt’s Vole: new insights into mechanisms of photoperiodic plasticity in postnatal testicular development

IF 3.9 4区 生物学 Q1 GENETICS & HEREDITY
Lewen Wang, Yaqi Ying, Ning Li, Ying Song, Lijuan Zhao, Hong Sun, Zhenlong Wang, Xiao-Hui Liu, Dawei Wang
{"title":"Transcriptome analysis of the hypothalamus and testes in Brandt’s Vole: new insights into mechanisms of photoperiodic plasticity in postnatal testicular development","authors":"Lewen Wang,&nbsp;Yaqi Ying,&nbsp;Ning Li,&nbsp;Ying Song,&nbsp;Lijuan Zhao,&nbsp;Hong Sun,&nbsp;Zhenlong Wang,&nbsp;Xiao-Hui Liu,&nbsp;Dawei Wang","doi":"10.1007/s10142-025-01562-9","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Postnatal gonadal development is regulated by photoperiod via the hypothalamus, especially in seasonal breeding small rodents. However, the precise molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of the hypothalamus and testes in 10-week-old male Brandt’s voles born under long (LP, 16L:8D) and short photoperiod (SP, 8L:16D) conditions. Results indicate that the SP group exhibited significantly smaller testes with spermatogenesis halted before meiosis, identifying 129 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hypothalamus and 21,673 DEGs in the testes. In the hypothalamus, genes involved in the thyroid hormone and retinoic acid (RA) pathway were notably altered under SP conditions, including decreased <i>Tshb</i> and <i>Cga</i> expression, increased <i>Dio3</i>, and reduced <i>Crabp1</i> and <i>Lrat</i>, highlighting their key roles in SP signaling. In the testes, downregulated genes were significantly enriched in male reproduction-related GO terms and metabolic KEGG pathways, such as steroid hormone biosynthesis and retinol metabolism. Key genes for testosterone synthesis (e.g. <i>Star</i>, <i>Cyp11a1</i>) and RA synthesis (e.g. <i>Rdh10</i>, <i>Rdh11</i>) were downregulated, while those linked to RA degradation (<i>Cyp26b1</i>) and undifferentiated spermatogonia maintenance (e.g. <i>Gdnf</i>, <i>Gfra1</i>) were upregulated. These findings outline a molecular microenvironment that favors the preservation of undifferentiated spermatogonia over their differentiation from the hypothalamus to the testes. This study firstly provides valuable insights into the transcriptomic basis of SP-inhibited testicular development in Brandt’s voles.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":574,"journal":{"name":"Functional & Integrative Genomics","volume":"25 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Functional & Integrative Genomics","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10142-025-01562-9","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GENETICS & HEREDITY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Postnatal gonadal development is regulated by photoperiod via the hypothalamus, especially in seasonal breeding small rodents. However, the precise molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the transcriptomes of the hypothalamus and testes in 10-week-old male Brandt’s voles born under long (LP, 16L:8D) and short photoperiod (SP, 8L:16D) conditions. Results indicate that the SP group exhibited significantly smaller testes with spermatogenesis halted before meiosis, identifying 129 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hypothalamus and 21,673 DEGs in the testes. In the hypothalamus, genes involved in the thyroid hormone and retinoic acid (RA) pathway were notably altered under SP conditions, including decreased Tshb and Cga expression, increased Dio3, and reduced Crabp1 and Lrat, highlighting their key roles in SP signaling. In the testes, downregulated genes were significantly enriched in male reproduction-related GO terms and metabolic KEGG pathways, such as steroid hormone biosynthesis and retinol metabolism. Key genes for testosterone synthesis (e.g. Star, Cyp11a1) and RA synthesis (e.g. Rdh10, Rdh11) were downregulated, while those linked to RA degradation (Cyp26b1) and undifferentiated spermatogonia maintenance (e.g. Gdnf, Gfra1) were upregulated. These findings outline a molecular microenvironment that favors the preservation of undifferentiated spermatogonia over their differentiation from the hypothalamus to the testes. This study firstly provides valuable insights into the transcriptomic basis of SP-inhibited testicular development in Brandt’s voles.

勃兰特田鼠下丘脑和睾丸的转录组分析:产后睾丸发育中光周期可塑性机制的新见解
出生后性腺发育受下丘脑光周期调控,特别是在季节性繁殖的小型啮齿动物中。然而,确切的分子机制尚不清楚。在本研究中,我们对长光周期(LP, 16L:8D)和短光周期(SP, 8L:16D)条件下出生的10周龄雄性勃兰特田鼠下丘脑和睾丸的转录组进行了比较分析。结果表明,SP组睾丸明显变小,精子发生在减数分裂前停止,下丘脑有129个差异表达基因(DEGs),睾丸有21,673个差异表达基因(DEGs)。在下丘脑中,参与甲状腺激素和维甲酸(RA)通路的基因在SP条件下显著改变,包括Tshb和Cga表达减少,Dio3表达增加,Crabp1和Lrat表达减少,突出了它们在SP信号传导中的关键作用。在睾丸中,下调基因在雄性生殖相关的GO术语和代谢KEGG途径中显著富集,如类固醇激素生物合成和视黄醇代谢。睾酮合成的关键基因(如Star、Cyp11a1)和RA合成的关键基因(如Rdh10、Rdh11)下调,而与RA降解相关的关键基因(Cyp26b1)和未分化精原细胞维持相关的关键基因(如Gdnf、Gfra1)上调。这些发现概述了一个分子微环境,有利于保存未分化的精原细胞,而不是它们从下丘脑分化到睾丸。这项研究首次为sp抑制勃兰特田鼠睾丸发育的转录组学基础提供了有价值的见解。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
CiteScore
3.50
自引率
3.40%
发文量
92
审稿时长
2 months
期刊介绍: Functional & Integrative Genomics is devoted to large-scale studies of genomes and their functions, including systems analyses of biological processes. The journal will provide the research community an integrated platform where researchers can share, review and discuss their findings on important biological questions that will ultimately enable us to answer the fundamental question: How do genomes work?
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术官方微信