Analysis of lncRNA and mRNA Expression Profiling in Immature and Mature DeZhou donkey (equine Taurus) Testes.

Testicular development and spermatogenesis are tightly regulated by the number of genes and noncoding genes, and mRNAs and lncRNAs play vital roles in regulating posttranscriptional gene expression. However, mRNAs and lncRNAs have not been systematically identified in the testes of donkeys. In this study, mRNA and lncRNA expression profiles in the testes of DeZhou donkeys between 2 months and 2 years of age were comprehensively analyzed by RNA sequencing. We identified 56605 lncRNAs and 61857 mRNAs by gene expression analysis, 21845 lncRNAs (P < 0.05) and 14109 mRNAs (P < 0.05) were differentially expressed in the immature (2-month-old, n=3, noADGW) and mature (2-year-old, n=3, ADGW) stages. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses revealed that the predicted target genes were enriched in the adherens junction, cell cycle, propanoate metabolism, and cell adhesion molecule pathways. This study identified and analyzed a comprehensive catalog of lncRNAs and mRNAs in donkey testes, which provides a useful resource for further investigation of biological function in donkey lncRNAs.