Comprehensive Analysis of Differentially Expressed Profiles of mRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA in the Uterus of Seasonal Reproduction Sheep

Abstract

Photoperiod is one of the important factors leading to seasonal reproduction of sheep. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the photoperiod regulation of seasonal reproduction remain poorly understood. In this study, we compared the expression profiles of mRNAs, lncRNAs, and circRNAs in uterine tissues from Sunite sheep during three different photoperiods, namely, the short photoperiod (SP), short transfer to long photoperiod (SLP), and long photoperiod (LP). The results showed that 298, 403, and 378 differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, 171, 491, and 499 DE lncRNAs, and 124, 270, and 400 DE circRNAs were identified between SP and LP, between SP and SLP, and between LP and SLP, respectively. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis showed that the differentially expressed RNAs were mainly involved in the GnRH signaling pathway, thyroid hormone synthesis, and thyroid hormone signaling pathway. In addition, co-expression networks of lncRNA–mRNA were constructed based on the correlation analysis between the differentially expressed RNAs. Our study provides new insights into the expression changes of RNAs in different photoperiods, which might contribute to understanding the molecular mechanisms of seasonal reproduction in sheep.