![]() Findings contribute to the understanding of genes and biological mechanisms related to heat stress response in pigs and provide potential biomarkers for future investigations on the reproductive performance of pigs.Īs global temperatures continue to increase, the swine industry faces severe challenges related to heat stress ( HS). The gene expression profiles under the thermoneutral and heat stress conditions were documented in heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible boars. ![]() This study utilized the sensitivity of semen to heat stress to discriminate the heat-tolerance ability of pigs. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis detected 4 and 7 modules with genes highly associated (r > 0.50, p < 0.05) with semen quality parameters in heat-tolerant and heat-susceptible pigs under the effects of heat stress, respectively. A total of 1041 differentially expressed genes (282 down-regulated, 759 up-regulated) were identified in the comparison between heat-tolerant pigs and heat-susceptible pigs under heat stress. Under heat stress, a total of 66 differentially expressed genes (25 down-regulated, 41 up-regulated) were identified in heat-tolerant pigs compared to themselves during the thermoneutral period. RNA was isolated from the blood samples collected from the thermoneutral and heat stress periods for gene expression analysis. Boars were classified into heat-tolerant ( n = 6) and heat-susceptible (n = 6) groups based on the variation of their ejaculate parameters across the two periods. Semen parameters, including total sperm number per ejaculate, motility, normal morphology rate, droplets, and rejected ejaculate rate, were measured weekly on 12 boars for two time periods: thermoneutral (January to May), and heat stress (July to October). ![]() This study examined differentially expressed genes and constructed gene co-expression networks on mRNAs of pigs under different heat-stress conditions using whole transcriptomic RNA-seq analyses. ![]() Yet, genetic variation and signaling pathways associated with the biological processes of heat-tolerant pigs are currently not fully understood. Heat tolerance is an important characteristic in pigs, allowing them to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on their physiological activities. Heat stress adversely affects pig growth and reproduction performance by reducing feed intake, weight gain, farrowing rate, and litter size. ![]()
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