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HEREDITAS(Beijing) ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (7): 646-654.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1005.2014.0646

• Reviews • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances in miRNA research related to testis development and spermatogenesis

Maoliang Ran1, Bin Chen1, Jie Yin2, 3, Anqi Yang1, Ming Jiang1   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science & Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China;
    2. Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South-Central, Ministry of Agriculture, Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Healthy Livestock and Poultry, Key Laboratory of Agroecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China;
    3. University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
  • Received:2013-11-29 Online:2014-07-20 Published:2014-06-23

Abstract: MicroRNA (miRNA), a class of non-coding RNA (about 22 nt), widely exists in different organisms and plays an important role in regulating cell growth, development, and apoptosis. Recently, various studies have demonstrated that miRNA also serves as a key mediator during testis development and spermatogenesis both in human beings and animals. However, the expression of miRNA in different testis from different species showed significant differences. Meanwhile, it also showed different expression patterns in different spermatogenesis stages. In this review, we summarize different miRNA expression patterns during testis development, spermatogenesis, as well as their roles in regulating spermatogenesis, which provids insight into the further research on miRNA in testis, and ideas for regulating and improving animal sperm quality by using miRNA.

Key words: miRNA, development of testis, spermatogenesis