Transcriptome sequencing analysis of ovarian granulosa cells in FecB hybrid ewe lamb

The reproductive trait of livestock is part of the most important economic traits in animal husbandry. FecB is a major gene for multiplet traits in sheep. However, studies on FecB in lamb are not clear and comprehensive. The 1-month ewe lamb of F1 generation cross between Booroola Merino sheep and Xinji fine wool sheep was superovulated. Transcriptome sequencing was performed on ovarian granulosa cells of the FecB gene wild homozygous type (++ genotype) and FecB gene mutant heterozygous type (B+ genotype). We found 306 DEGs in the ovarian granulosa cells of the two genotype (170 genes more highly in B+ genotype and 136 genes more highly in ++ genotype). These genes are mainly involved in the biological processes of the extracellular matrix, extracellular region, negative regulation of multicellular organismal process, negative regulation of secretion by cell, receptor binding, and also significantly enriched in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway of MAPK signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and Wnt signaling pathway. BMP2 will be presumed to be a key gene associated with the regulation of the reproductive performance of the FecB gene in lambs. This experiment provided a reference for the discussion of the regulatory mechanism of the FecB gene to ovarian granulosa cells in ewe lambs.