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Characterisation of sperm piRNAs and their correlation with semen quality traits in swine
Author(s) -
Ablondi M.,
Gòdia M.,
RodriguezGil J.E.,
Sánchez A.,
Clop A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/age.13022
Subject(s) - piwi interacting rna , biology , germline , genetics , transposable element , sperm , semen quality , genome , gene , zygote , male fertility , fertility , population , embryogenesis , demography , sociology
Summary Piwi‐interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of non‐coding RNAs that are essential in the transcriptional silencing of transposable elements and warrant genome stability in the mammalian germline. In this study, we have identified piRNAs in porcine sperm using male germline and zygote datasets from human, mice, cow and pig, and evaluated the relation between their abundances and sperm quality traits. In our analysis, we identified 283 382 piRNAs, 1355 of which correlated with P ≤ 0.01 to at least one semen quality trait. Fifty‐seven percent of the correlated piRNAs mapped less than 50 kb apart from any other piRNA in the pig genome. Furthermore, piRNA location was significantly enriched near long interspersed nuclear elements. Moreover, some of the significant piRNAs mapped within or close to genes relevant for fertility or spermatogenesis such as CSNK1G2 and PSMF1 .