Fig 1.
Venn diagram summarizing the number of DEGs in three regions of epididymis.
(a) Caput vs Corpus. (b) Cauda vs Corpus. (c) Caput vs Cauda.
Fig 2.
Scatter plot analysis of DEGs in three regions of epididymis.
(a) Caput vs Corpus. (b) Cauda vs Corpus. (c) Caput vs Cauda. Gray points indicate no significant differential expression genes (no-DEGs). Red points and blue points represent upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively.
Fig 3.
Heat map showing the hierarchical clustering of DEGs in three regions of epididymis.
(a) Caput vs Corpus. (b) Cauda vs Corpus. (c) Caput vs Cauda. upregulated and downregulated genes are indicated in red and blue, respectively.
Fig 4.
Eight DEGs were selected for validation, including GPX5, LOC105605950, ST8SIA6, SPTSSB, ASS1, LOC101123536, GSS, LCLAT1. The x-axis indicates the different parts of the epididymis, and the y-axis indicates the mRNA relative expression level (mean ± SEM).
Fig 5.
Number of genes showing epididymis-specific expression.
HEGs indicate highly expressed genes that are upregulated compared to the other two regions of the epididymis. SEGs indicate specifically expressed genes that are not expressed with FPKM<1 in the other two regions of the epididymis.
Fig 6.
GO analysis bubble diagram of the HEGs in the epididymis.
(a). HEGs in the caput. (b). HEGs in the corpus. (c). HEGs in the cauda. The X-axis represents the enrichment ratio (Rich Ratio = Term candidate gene num/Term gene num). The Y-axis represents the GO terms. The size of the bubble represents the number of genes annotated to a GO term, the colour represents the enrichment Q value, where the darker the colour, the smaller the Q value is. The bubble graph shows the top 20 GO terms with the smallest Q values.
Fig 7.
KEGG analysis bubble diagram of the HEGs in the epididymis.
(a). HEGs in the caput. (b). HEGs in the corpus. (c). HEGs in the cauda. The X-axis represents the enrichment ratio (Rich ratio = Term candidate gene num/Term gene num). The Y-axis represents the KEGG pathways. The size of the bubble represents the number of genes annotated to a KEGG pathway, the colour represents the enrichment Q value, where the darker the colour, the smaller the Q value is. The bubble graph shows the top 20 GO terms with the smallest Q values.
Fig 8.
Functional annotation of 20 HEGs.
Red, blue, and green represent genes with highly specific expression in the caput, corpus, and cauda of the epididymis, respectively. Yellow indicates sperm maturation-related functions.
Fig 9.
Heat maps of gene family expression profiles in the epididymis.
(a). Glutathione peroxidase family. (b). Beta-defensin family. (c). Lipocalin protein family. (d). Interleukin-related genes. Upregulated and downregulated genes are indicated in red and blue, respectively.