Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) has been identified as important regulator in hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis associated with sheep prolificacy. However, little is known of their expression pattern and potential roles in the pineal gland of sheep. Herein, RNA-Seq was used to detect transcriptome expression pattern in pineal gland between follicular phase (FP) and luteal phase (LP) in FecBBB (MM) and FecB++ (ww) STH sheep, respectively, and differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and mRNAs associated with reproduction were identified. Overall, 135 DE lncRNAs and 1360 DE mRNAs in pineal gland between MM and ww sheep were screened. Wherein, 39 DE lncRNAs and 764 DE mRNAs were identified (FP vs LP) in MM sheep, 96 DE lncRNAs and 596 DE mRNAs were identified (FP vs LP) in ww sheep. Moreover, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the targets of DE lncRNAs and DE mRNAs were annotated to multiple biological processes such as phototransduction, circadian rhythm, melanogenesis, GSH metabolism and steroid biosynthesis, which directly or indirectly participate in hormone activities to affect sheep reproductive performance. Additionally, co-expression of lncRNAs-mRNAs and the network construction were performed based on correlation analysis, DE lncRNAs can modulate target genes involved in related pathways to affect sheep fecundity. Specifically, XLOC_466330, XLOC_532771, XLOC_028449 targeting RRM2B and GSTK1, XLOC_391199 targeting STMN1, XLOC_503926 targeting RAG2, XLOC_187711 targeting DLG4 were included. All of these differential lncRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in pineal gland provide a novel resource for elucidating regulatory mechanism underlying STH sheep prolificacy.

中文翻译：

---

松果体转录组分析揭示了具有两种 FecB 基因型的 STH 绵羊中与多产相关的 lncRNA 和 mRNA 的差异调节

长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 已被确定为与绵羊繁殖相关的下丘脑-垂体-卵巢轴的重要调节因子。然而，人们对它们在绵羊松果体中的表达模式和潜在作用知之甚少。在此，RNA-Seq 分别用于检测 FecBBB (MM) 和 FecB++ (ww) STH 绵羊的卵泡期 (FP) 和黄体期 (LP) 之间松果体的转录组表达模式，以及差异表达 (DE) lncRNA 和鉴定了与繁殖相关的mRNA。总体而言，筛选了 MM 和 ww 羊之间松果体中的 135 个 DE lncRNA 和 1360 个 DE mRNA。其中，在MM羊中鉴定出39个DE lncRNA和764个DE mRNA（FP vs LP），在ww羊中鉴定出96个DE lncRNA和596个DE mRNA（FP vs LP）。而且，GO和KEGG富集分析表明，DE lncRNAs和DE mRNAs的靶标被注释为光转导、昼夜节律、黑色素生成、GSH代谢和类固醇生物合成等多个生物学过程，直接或间接参与激素活动，影响绵羊的繁殖性能。此外，基于相关性分析进行lncRNAs-mRNAs的共表达和网络构建，DE lncRNAs可以调节参与相关途径的靶基因，从而影响绵羊的繁殖力。具体来说，包括针对 RRM2B 和 GSTK1 的 XLOC_466330、XLOC_532771、XLOC_028449、针对 STMN1 的 XLOC_391199、针对 RAG2 的 XLOC_503926、针对 DLG4 的 XLOC_187711。