Dataset Information

Comprehensive analysis of differences of N6-methyladenosine of lncRNAs between atrazine-induced and normal Xenopus laevis testis

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increasing evidence suggested N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is crucial for male germline development. However, m6A modification of lncRNAs gains a little attention in amphibians in recent years. Xenopus laevis (X. laevis) was chosen to be an ideal model organism for testing environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) exposure and resultant effects. Atrazine (AZ) as an endocrine disrupt can effect development of testis in amphibians. Our previous study revealed that m6A is a highly conserved modification across the species.

Results

The results of m6A sequences showed that m6A-methylated lncRNAs enriched in intergenic region in testes of X. laevis. We further examined the differential expression of lncRNAs m6A sites in testes of AZ-exposed and compared with that in animals from control group. The results indicated that up to 198 differentially methylated m6A sites were detected within 188 lncRNAs, in which 89 significantly up-methylated sites and 109 significantly down-methylated sites. Data from KEGG pathway analysis indicated that AZ-affected lncRNAs m6A sites were mainly involved in 10 pathways in which 3 mutual pathways were found in the result of differentially m6A-methylated mRNAs.

Conclusions

These findings suggested that differentially m6A-methylated lncRNAs and these 3 pathways may act on regulatory roles in abnormal testis development of AZ-exposed X. laevis. This study for the first time provides insights into the profile of lncRNAs m6A modifications in amphibian species.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41021-021-00223-0.

SUBMITTER: Qi X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8572474 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most common form of eukaryotic mRNA modification, and it has been shown to exhibit broad regulatory activity in yeast, plants, and mammals. The specific role of m6A methylation as a regulator of spermatogenesis, however, has yet to be established. In this experiment, through a series of preliminary studies and methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing, the m6A map of cattle-yak testicular tissue was established as a means of exploring how m6A modification affects cattle-yak male infertility. Cattle-yak testis tissues used in this study were found to contain sertoli cells and spermatogonia. Relative to sexually mature yak samples, those isolated from cattle-yak testis exhibited slightly reduced levels of overall methylation, although these levels were significantly higher than those in samples from pre-sexually mature yaks. Annotation analyses revealed that differentially methylated peaks were most concentrated in exonic regions, with progressively lower levels of concentration in the 3'-untranslated region (UTR) and 5'-UTR regions. To further explore the role of such m6A modification, enrichment analyses were performed on differentially methylated and differentially expressed genes in these samples. For the cattle-yaks vs. 18-months-old yaks group comparisons, differentially methylated genes were found to be associated with spermatogenesis-related GO terms related to the cytoskeleton and actin-binding, as well as with KEGG terms related to the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and the MAPK signaling pathway. Similarly, enrichment analyses performed for the cattle-yaks vs. 5-years-old yaks comparison revealed differentially methylated genes to be associated with GO terms related to protein ubiquitination, ubiquitin ligase complexes, ubiquitin-dependent protein catabolism, and endocytotic activity, as well as with KEGG terms related to apoptosis and the Fanconi anemia pathway. Overall, enrichment analyses for the cattle-yaks vs. 18-months-old yaks comparison were primarily associated with spermatogenesis, whereas those for the cattle-yaks vs. 5-years-old yaks comparison were primarily associated with apoptosis.