Combining next-generation sequencing with microarray for transcriptome analysis in rainbow trout gonads

Microarray technology is a powerful tool for studying genome-wide gene expression. As the genome of many fish has not yet been determined, however, cDNA microarrays can only be designed from limited expressed sequence tag data. In this study, we designed a microarray based on the sequencing data (337,466 reads) obtained by next-generation sequencing of RNA extracted from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) embryonic genital ridge, testis, and ovary. These data (307,264 reads) were assembled into 28,668 contigs; 3,298 reads could not be assembled and 26,904 reads were unique sequences that did not cluster with other reads. Based on this information, 55,928 microarray probes were designed for a microarray, which was validated by hybridization experiments with RNA extracted from type A spermatogonia (A-SG) and testicular somatic cells. Expression of known spermatogonial markers was confirmed to be higher in A-SG than in testicular somatic cells whereas supporting-cell markers were expressed at higher levels in testicular somatic cells. This microarray analysis revealed that 8,068 transcripts showed at least fourfold higher signal in A-SG than testicular somatic cells. Fourteen of 17 randomly selected transcripts were expressed at significantly higher-levels in A-SG than somatic cells, by quantitative RT-PCR. In addition, three transcripts analyzed with in situ hybridization showed A-SG-specific signals in immature trout testis, with one of them exhibiting a heterogeneous expression pattern in A-SG. The rainbow trout gonad microarray developed in this study therefore appears to be a useful tool to understand gametogenesis in rainbow trout. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 79: 870878, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.