Scanning and Mining of High Fecundity Genes by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) in Sheep (Ovis aries) Pituitary

The pituitary gland is an important endocrine organ that regulates estrus and reproduction in sheep mainly through hormone synthesis and secretion. In present study, Small-tailed Han sheep (high-reproduction group, HP group), and Wadi sheep (lower-reproduction group, LP group), were used as the experiment materials, and the differential expressed genes (DEGs) were scanned and mined by Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) in pituitary. A total of 7123 DEGs were found, including 3551 genes that were upregulated and 3572 genes that were downregulated in HP group. Go and KEGG related to pituitary function and reproduction were enriched, including reproductive processes, responses to stimuli, and synapses. mTOR signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, ERK1/2 signaling pathways and MAPK signaling pathways. The DEGs detected in this study were involved in the development of tissues and organs and the secretion of hormones in the endocrine system. These findings suggest that these genes might be related to growth, development and the reproduction regulation in sheep, which could provide a scientific basis for elucidating the genetic mechanisms of high reproduction in sheep. Overall design: In this study, three healthy small-tailed Han sheep and three healthy Wadi sheep with similar body composition, were selected to form a high-reproduction group (HP group, small-tailed Han sheep) and a lowreproduction group (LP group, Wadi sheep). Oxford Nanopore Technologies (full-length transcriptome sequencing technology) was used for mRNA identification, screening, and functional analysis of the different groups. The pituitary tissue expression trends of eight genes were verified by Quantitative Rreal-time PCR