RNA-seq analysis of chicken Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) for identification of sexually dimorphic ge
Figure: A downstream pathway analysis of one of the gene (ECM receptor) found deferentially expressed between male and female PGCs
We are using RNA-seq to analyze the transcriptomes of chicken PGCs cultured in feeder-less culture medium. We are interested in finding genes differentially expressed in undifferentiated PGCs that distinguish genders and if particular gene networks might underlie differential growth patterns observed between male and female PGCs in-vitro. Our analyses also included PGCs from layers and broilers. High throughput Illumina sequencing reads were used to generate RPKM (Reads Per Kilobase per Million) values and analyzed using ArrayStar (DNAStar ver 13) and fRNAkenstein tools in CyVerse. We identified autosomal, W-linked, Z-linked, and unannotated genes which shows sexually dimorphic expression in both breeds. Interestingly some genes like FOXN1, whose expression is 2-fold higher in female PGCs, belong to the family of transcriptional factor (Forkhead) which have been shown to be dimorphically expressed between sexes but only in gonads. It is interesting to note that prior to gonadogenesis, PGCs starts expressing genes differentially. [DDR1] Similarly the uncharacterized gene LOC1008596602 is W linked and expressed 3 fold higher expression in male PGCs vs female. We are interested in detecting the downstream pathways connecting the functional role of these differentially expressed genes between the sexes and between the two different types of chickens.