Transcriptome analysis of the testes of male chickens with high and low sperm motility

The reproductive performance of chicken breeders has significant economic importance in the poultry industry, and sperm motility is an indicator of reproductive performance. This study performed RNA-seq of the testes of Gushi chicken roosters with high and low sperm motility and identified differentially expressed RNAs involved in sperm motility. RNA-seq analysis showed that 73 and 67 differentially expressed mRNAs were up-and downregulated, and 47 and 56 dif-ferentially expressed long non-coding RNAs were up -and downregulated, respectively. The genes related to sperm motility and spermatogenesis included KIFC1, KCNK2, and REC8. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the pathways related to sperm motility included oxidative phosphorylation and glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism. In addition, the MSTRG.15920.1-REC8-MSTRG.11860.2-VWC2 path-way may regulate sperm motility. This study helped elu-cidate the molecular genetic mechanism of sperm motility in chicken.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the testes of Gushi chicken roosters with high and low sperm motility using RNA-seq and identified differentially expressed RNAs involved in sperm motility. The study also revealed the pathways and genes related to sperm motility in chickens.