Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41975518›Full record

ArticleJournal of animal science and biotechnology2026

Cross-species single-cell transcriptomic analyses reveal evolutionary conservation and diversification of ovarian tissues.

Bailing Xue, Yajing Liu, Chen Zhou, Kairat Dossybayev, Narantuya Baatar, Nikolay Yudin, Linwei Zhang, Ji Yang, Menghua Li, Songsong Xu

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of animal science and biotechnology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Bailing Xue *Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Yajing Liu *Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Chen ZhouFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Kairat DossybayevLPP "Kazakh Research Institute for Livestock and Fodder Production", Almaty, 050035, Kazakhstan.
Narantuya BaatarResearch Institute of Animal Husbandry, Ulaanbaatar, 17029, Mongolia.
Nikolay YudinInstitute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (ICG SB RAS), Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia.
Linwei ZhangDepartment of Neurology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, China.
Ji YangFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Menghua LiFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
Songsong XuFrontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding (MOE); State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding; College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. xusongsong@cau.edu.cn.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe ovary is a central female reproductive organ responsible for producing oocytes and secreting steroid hormones. To investigate the molecular similarities and potential evolutionary origins of the ovary across vertebrates, we integrated publicly available single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomic data from nine species, including oviparous animals (fish and chicken) and viviparous mammals (mouse, rat, sheep, goat, yak, monkey, and human).

resultsWe generated a multi-species ovarian atlas comprising 186,748 cells and identified nine cell types. Cross-species comparative analysis identified conserved and species-specific features in granulosa cells (GCs) and stromal cells (SCs), including gene expression patterns, signaling pathways, and cell-cell communication networks. For example, proliferation-associated genes such as CKAP5, MCM3, and GINS1 were shared across vertebrates in GC-3, highlighting the evolutionary conservation of the molecular machinery underlying granulosa cell division. A comparison of granulosa cell subtypes further revealed species-specific gene co-expression patterns in oviparous and viviparous species, indicating adaptations for their different reproductive strategies. Stromal cells showed strong evolutionary conservation, as core extracellular matrix genes (e.g., COL6A1, FSTL1, ACTN1) were co-expressed across species in SC-1. Moreover, the conserved ligand-receptor pairs such as COL4A1-CD44, COL1A1-SDC4, LAMB1-ITGA6-ITGB1, and VEGFA-NRP2 constituted fundamental signaling axes of follicle development, while interactions such as PPIA-BSG in mouse and MDK-NCL in human were higher in these species compared with others, reflecting species-specific ovarian cell communication during evolution.

conclusionsThese findings provide comprehensive insights into the molecular evolution and cellular diversity of the ovary, offering a valuable resource for understanding ovarian biology and evolutionary mechanisms.

Indexed as

Cross-species analysisEvolutionOvarySingle-cell RNA-seqVertebrates

Identifiers

PMID41975518
PMCPMC13077819

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