Mouse Transcriptome Analysis to Identify Genes and Pathways Associated with Reproductive Longevity

Reproductive Longevity (RL) is a complex trait that is influenced by other quantitative traits such as longevity, ovarian function, fertility, stress resistance and health. In spite of its importance to the agricultural community, the mechanisms underlying genetic variation in RL remain largely unknown. In order to understand the genetic control of RL, we used RNAseq technology to investigate the transcriptome profiles of two contrasting mouse lines in which selectively-bred (S) mouse lines were mated for 30 years with fertility and RL as the selective criterion. These lines had a mean reproductive lifespan of 86%, nearly twice as long as control (C) lines that were randomly mated.

RNAseq data identified a total of 974 differentially expressed genes with significantly different expression levels (false discovery rate <5% and ≥1.5-fold expression difference) in specific tissues extracted from the selected and control lines. 86% of the identified genes had lower relative expression levels in the selected lines. To increase statistical and explanatory power of the gene expression analysis, we used enrichment analysis of functional annotations from the Gene Ontology and KEGG databases. Functional classifications revealed the involvement of RL genes in various biological processes, highly accounted with metabolic and cellular processes. This comprehensive overview of gene expression will provide detailed insight into transcriptomic changes of RL in mammals and will be integrated with genome sequencing in order to establish the relationships between genetic variation, molecular mechanisms and the RL phenotype.