Early cleavage of porcine preimplantation embryos is regulated by tRNAGln-TTG-derived small RNAs present in mature spermatozoa

Purpose: To elucidate the expression pattern of tsRNAs in porcine spermatogenesis, sperm maturation. To gain insight the roles of tsRNAs in porcine embryo development. Overall design: In the present study, by using pigs as a research model, we probed tsRNA dynamics during spermatogenesis and sperm maturation, and found that tRNAGln-TTG-derived small RNAs (Gln-TTGs) were highly enriched in ejaculated sperm. Later, by microinjection of the antisense sequence into in vitro fertilized (IVF) oocytes and and subsequent single-cell RNA-seq of blastomeres, we demonstrated that Gln-TTGs are involved in the first cleavage of porcine preimplantation embryos via modulating cell cycle-related genes and retrotransposons.