Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is useful for exploring cell heterogeneity. For large animals, however, little is known regarding spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) self-renewal regulation, especially in dairy goats. In this study, we described a high-resolution scRNA-seq atlas derived from a dairy goat. We identified six somatic cell and five spermatogenic cell subtypes. During spermatogenesis, genes with significantly changed expression were mainly enriched in the Notch, TGF-β, and Hippo signaling pathways as well as the signaling pathway involved in the regulation of stem cell pluripotency. We detected and screened specific candidate marker genes ( TKTL1 and AES) for spermatogonia. Our study provides new insights into goat spermatogenesis and the development of testicular somatic cells.
单细胞转录组测序（scRNA-seq）已被用于探索细胞异质性和发育谱系及其功能的研究。但在大型动物中，尤其是在奶山羊，对于精原干细胞（SSC）自我更新的调控知之甚少。基于此，我们解析了奶山羊睾丸细胞的高分辨率scRNA-seq数据集；在奶山羊精子发生过程中，Notch信号通路、TGF-β信号通路、Hippo信号通路以及参与干细胞多能性调节的信号通路的基因表达发生明显改变；并进一步筛选发现了奶山羊精原细胞的特异性标记基因：TKTL1和AES。该研究为山羊精子发生和睾丸体细胞的发育提供了新见识和科学依据。.
Keywords: Dairy goat; Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq); Spermatogenesis; Spermatogonia.