Information about the effects of photoperiod on the testicular transcriptome of broiler roosters is limited. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of different photoperiodic regimes on gene expression in the testes of broiler breeder roosters. One hundred and twenty Arbor Acres broiler breeder roosters aged 20 weeks were assigned to one of three groups (n = 40) and subjected to different photoperiodic regimes: control (CTR; 12.5 L:11.5 D), short day (SD; 8 L:16 D) and long day (LD; 16 L:8 D). After 4 weeks, the testes of 10 randomly selected birds from each group were dissected, sliced and haematoxylin-eosin stained. The testicular transcriptome of roosters from the SD and LD groups was determined by RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), and the results were confirmed using quantitative real-time PCR. The seminiferous tubule area and sperm count increased significantly with the prolongation of photoperiod (p < .01). Additionally, the RNA-Seq results indicated that 387 genes were upregulated and 1,052 genes were downregulated in the LD group compared with those in the SD group. Several crucial genes involved in rooster testicular development and reproduction were also screened, including heat shock proteins 90, extracellular regulated protein kinases 1, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, adenosine 5'-monophosphate -activated protein kinase, BCL-6 and Smad3. The differentially expressed genes were enriched in the mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR), forkhead box (FoxO), transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and insulin signalling pathway. In conclusion, a 16 hr photoperiod for 4 weeks increased the seminiferous tubule duct area and promoted spermatogenesis in the rooster's testicles, and the mTOR, FoxO, TGF-β and insulin signalling pathways may be involved.

中文翻译：

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光周期对肉鸡公鸡睾丸转录组的影响。

关于光周期对肉鸡公鸡睾丸转录组影响的信息有限。本研究的目的是探索不同光周期方案对肉鸡种鸡睾丸基因表达的影响。将120周龄的120头Arbor Acres肉鸡种鸡分为三组（n = 40），并接受不同的光周期处理：对照（​​CTR; 12.5 L：11.5 D），短日（SD; 8 L： 16 D）和漫长的一天（LD; 16 L：8 D）。4周后，将每组10只随机选择的家禽的睾丸切开，切片并用苏木精-伊红染色。通过RNA测序（RNA-Seq）确定SD和LD组公鸡的睾丸转录组，并使用实时定量PCR确认结果。随着光周期的延长，曲细精管面积和精子数量显着增加（p <.01）。另外，RNA-Seq结果表明，与SD组相比，LD组的387个基因被上调，而1,052个基因被下调。还筛选了涉及公鸡睾丸发育和繁殖的几个关键基因，包括热休克蛋白90，细胞外调节蛋白激酶1，磷脂酰肌醇3激酶，腺苷5'-单磷酸激活蛋白激酶，BCL-6和Smad3。差异表达的基因富含雷帕霉素（mTOR），叉头盒（FoxO），转化生长因子β（TGF-β）和胰岛素信号通路的哺乳动物靶标。结论，