Transcriptome-wide impact of season and progesterone in the medio-basal hypothalamus of the goat

Here we used RNAseq to compare the transcriptomes of the medio-basal hypothalamus of goats killed at two different times of the year (end of January and mid-May) and under different hormonal conditions (follicular and luteal phase, in January only). The current experiment was designed to identify the impact of photoperiod upon the transcriptome and to compare it with that of the ewe. The current design also tested the potential impact of progesterone (P4) upon this transcriptome; ewes were treated with a vaginal fluogestone acetate sponge during the breeding season (January) and killed either 2 days (follicular phase) or 8 days (luteal phase) after estrumate treatment and sponge removal. The study was performed in adult Alpine goats. The experiment included 18 goats: 5 for January/Follicular phase; 5 for January/Luteal phase and 8 for mid-May/Anestrus. RNA was extracted from each goat MBH. Then, for each condition two random equimolar mixes of mRNA were used for RNAseq --> 2 biological replicates.