PLoS ONE (Jan 2017)

Discovery of microRNAs during early spermatogenesis in chicken.

  • Lu Xu,
  • Qixin Guo,
  • Guobin Chang,
  • Lingling Qiu,
  • Xiangping Liu,
  • Yulin Bi,
  • Yu Zhang,
  • Hongzhi Wang,
  • Wei Lu,
  • Lichen Ren,
  • Ying Chen,
  • Yang Zhang,
  • Qi Xu,
  • Guohong Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177098
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 5
p. e0177098

Abstract

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Spermatogenesis is a complex process that involves many elements. However, until now, little is known at the molecular level about spermatogenesis in poultry. Here we investigated microRNAs and their target genes that may be involved in germ cell development and spermatogonial in chicken. We used next-generation sequencing to analyze miRNA expression profiles in three types of germline cells: primordial germ cells (PGCs), spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), and spermatogonia (Sp) during early stage of spermatogenesis. After validated the candidate miRNAs and corresponding genes' expression in three types of cells, we found 15 miRNAs that were enriched 21 target genes that may be involved in spermatogenesis. Among the enriched miRNAs, miR-202-5p/3p were up-regulated in the Sp library and down-regulated in the PGCs library. Through RT-qPCR and Dual-Luciferase reporter assay, we confirmed that miR-202-5p bind to LIMK2 and involved in germ cell development. Collectively, we firstly discover the novel miRNAs, like miR-202-5p, and its related genes and pathways, expressed during the early spermatogonial stage in chicken, which will provide new clues for deciphering the molecular mechanism of the miRNAs regulating germline stem cell differentiation and spermatogenesis in chicken.