骨形态发生蛋白15(bone morphogenetic protein 15,BMP15)作为绵羊(Ovis aries)繁殖性状的重要调控因子,但其具体作用机制尚不完全清楚。为探究BMP15基因组织表达水平及BMP15基因突变与不同绵羊品种繁殖力之间的关系,本研究选择多羔品种(小尾寒羊)和单羔品种(滩羊和苏尼特羊)作对比,应用RT-PCR和q RT-PCR技术研究BMP15基因组织表达谱以及在不同绵羊品种卵巢组织表达差异;选择不同产羔率水平的多个绵羊群体,采用聚合酶链反应-单链构象多态性分析(polymerase chain reactionsingle strand conformation polymorphism,PCR-SSCP)和测序技术检测BMP15的3个突变(FecX(Gr),FecXO和G971A)。结果发现,BMP15主要表达于绵羊卵巢、输卵管、子宫、脾脏、十二指肠、骨骼肌和皮下脂肪组织,且在卵巢组织表达丰度明显高于其他组织;绵羊BMP15在3个品种卵巢组织的表达量存在差异,且小尾寒羊(多羔品种)表达量显著低于滩羊和苏尼特羊(单羔品种)(P〈0.05),滩羊和苏尼特羊差异不显著(P〉0.05);最新发现的绵羊BMP15 3个突变(FecX(Gr),FecXO和G971A)在16个绵羊群体均未检测到。研究结果提示,绵羊BMP15在卵巢组织中高表达,表达水平与绵羊排卵和产羔数呈负相关。本研究可为揭示绵羊高繁殖力调控因子BMP15的作用机制提供数据参考。
Bone morphogenetic protein 15(BMP15) is an important regulation factor of reproductive traits in sheep(Ovis aries), however, the specific mechanism now is not certain. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the expression levels of BMP15 mRNA and the mutations of BMP15 gene and fecundity in different sheep breeds. The expression profilings in tissues and the expression levels in ovary were determined between high fecundity breed(Small Tail Han sheep) and low fecundity breeds(Tan sheep and Sunite sheep) by using RT- PCR and q RT- PCR methods, respectively. The 3 new mutations in ovine BMP15 gene were detected in 16 sheep populations of different fecundity by using polymerase chain reaction- single strand conformation polymorphism(PCR- SSCP) and sequencing methods, individually. The results showed that BMP15 mRNA was detected in sheep ovary, oviduct, uterus, spleen, duodenum, skeletal muscle and subcutaneous fat, and the BMP15 mRNA of ovary was higher than that of other tissues; The BMP15 expression levels were different in ovary of 3 breeds, and Small Tail Han sheep(high fecundity breed) was significant lower than that of Tan sheep and Sunite sheep(low fecundity breeds)(P〈0.05), Tan sheep and Sunite sheep had no significant difference in ovary(P〈0.05); The new mutations of FecX(Gr), FecXO and G971 A were not detected in all of the 16 sheep populations. The results implied that the BMP15 mRNA expression level was high in ovary and the ovulation performance and the litter size of sheep were negative correlation with the expression level of BMP15 in ovary. This study will provide a reference for revealing the functional mechanism of the regulatory factors of fecundity in sheep.