An exploratory data analysis from ovine and bovine RNA-seq identifies pathways and key genes related to cervical dilatation

Abstract

The present study developed a review and exploration of data in public and already validated repositories. The main objective is to identify the pathways involved in ruminants cervical dilatation, which are conserved between cattle and sheep in the follicular and luteal phases of the reproductive cycle. In cattle, 1961 genes were found to be more expressed in the follicular phase and 1560 in the luteal phase. 24 genes were considered exclusively expressed from these 18 genes were in the follicular phase and 6 genes were in the luteal phase. In sheep, 2126 genes are more expressed in the follicular phase and 2469 genes are more expressed in the luteal phase. Hoxb genes were identified in both species and are correlated with the PI3K/Akt pathway. PI3K/Akt was also found in both cattle and sheep, appearing prominently in the follicular and luteal phases of both species. Our analyzes have pointed out that the PI3K/Akt pathway and the Hoxb genes appear in prominence, in modulating mechanisms that involve estrus alterations in the cervix. PI3K/Akt appears to be an important pathway in the cervical relaxation process.