An integrated analysis of mRNAs and lncRNAs in goat's hypothalamus to explore the onset of puberty

The time of puberty onset is crucial for female animal, as it can affect the generation interval, feeding costs and the utilization of animals. However, little is known about the mechanism of hypothalamic lncRNAs (long noncoding RNAs) in regulatory goat puberty onset. Therefore, genome-wide transcriptome analysis was performed in goats to clarify the roles of hypothalamic lncRNAs and mRNAs in the onset of puberty. In the present study, the co-expression network of differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs in goat hypothalamus identified FN1 as the hub gene, and ECM-receptor interaction, Focal adhesion and PI3K-Akt signalling pathways are involved in puberty. We also observed the crucial hub transcription factors (TCF12, STAT1, STAT2, GATA3 and TEAD4) associated with reproduction and puberty. Then, genetic correlation analysis of DE mRNAs and DE lncRNAs identified the key lncRNAs involved in puberty. This research supplies a resource for transcriptome studies in goat puberty and indicated DE lncRNAs in the ECM-receptor interaction pathway were novel candidate regulators for genetic studies on female reproduction.