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. 2017 Mar 8:7:44026.
doi: 10.1038/srep44026.

Identification and characterization of differentially expressed miRNAs in subcutaneous adipose between Wagyu and Holstein cattle

Yuntao Guo  1 , Xiuxiu Zhang  1 , Wanlong Huang  1 , Xiangyang Miao  1
Affiliations

Identification and characterization of differentially expressed miRNAs in subcutaneous adipose between Wagyu and Holstein cattle

Yuntao Guo et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators involved in animal adipogenesis, however, their roles in bovine fat deposition remain poorly understood. In the present study, we conducted a comparative RNA sequencing to identify the key miRNAs involved in beef lipid accumulation by comparing the backfat small RNA samples between Wagyu (high intramuscular fat) and Holstein (moderate intramuscular fat) cattle. Fifteen miRNAs such as bta-miR-142-3p, bta-miR-379, bta-miR-196a, bta-miR-196b, bta-miR-30f and bta-miR-2887 were identified to have a higher expression level in Wagyu cattle compared with Holstein, whereas bta-miR-320a, bta-miR-874 and bta-miR-1247-3p had a lower expression level in Wagyu. Furthermore, a total of 1345 potential target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using bioinformatics tools, in which PPARα and RXRα were known to play a critical role in adipocyte differentiation and lipid metabolism. In conclusion, the present study constructed a high-throughput RNA sequencing screen and successfully identified miRNAs such as bta-miR-874, bta-miR-320a and bta-miR-196b which may affect beef fat deposition. The present findings may provide a theoretical foundation for the utilization of beef cattle germplasm resources.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Frequency distribution of sequence lengths of the sequencing results in the W (red) and H (blue) libraries.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Percentage of various ncRNA reads in total distinct reads.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Venn diagram of conserved miRNAs in both W and H breeds.
Figure 4
Figure 4. The top ten abundant miRNAs identified in the W and H libraries.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Bta-miR-196b, bta-miR-874 and their predicted target genes PPARα, RXRα.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Interactive relationship between differentially expressed miRNAs and their target genes in PPAR signaling pathway.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Comparison of relative expression (A) and TPM (B) values of four selected differentially expressed miRNAs. (A) The relative expression level of selected miRNAs were measured by quantitative real-time PCR, data were expressed as the means ± SD. **, ***p < 0.01, or 0.001, respectively. (B) The TPM of selected miRNAs analyzed in RNA-seq.
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