Effect of dietary Astragalus Polysaccharide supplements on testicular piRNA expression profiles of breeding cocks

[Display omitted] •Systematically reported the piRNA transcriptome of breeding cock testes.•Illuminated the differentially expressed piRNAs in breeder cock testes in response to dietary APS supplements.•Illuminated the regulatory roles of piRNAs in testicular condition, and provided a new insight into potential regulatory roles of dietary APS in chicken testes.•Provided a new insight into the relationship between the effects of APS, chicken testes, and expressed piRNAs in testes. Astragalus Polysaccharide (APS), as the main active ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus, has extensive biological activities related to immune, metabolic, and anti-oxidative regulatory processes. Previous studies have proven that piRNAs could play important roles in genital gland. This study aimed to identify the differentially expressed piRNAs in chicken testes in response to dietary APS supplements and further evaluate the roles of these piRNAs related to the effect of dietary APS supplements on testicular changes. We generated piRNA expression profiles of testes from breeding cocks fed without or with extra APS. As results, there were 42 up-regulated and 86 down-regulated piRNAs in APS group, compared with the control group meeting the criteria of P