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. 2023 Dec 15;13(24):3869.
doi: 10.3390/ani13243869.

Identification of Potential miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network Associated with Growth and Development of Hair Follicles in Forest Musk Deer

Wen-Hua Qi  1 , Ting Liu  1 , Cheng-Li Zheng  2 , Qi Zhao  1 , Nong Zhou  1 , Gui-Jun Zhao  3
Affiliations

Identification of Potential miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network Associated with Growth and Development of Hair Follicles in Forest Musk Deer

Wen-Hua Qi et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

In this study, sRNA libraries and mRNA libraries of HFs of FMD were constructed and sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq 2500, and the expression profiles of miRNAs and genes in the HFs of FMD were obtained at the anagen and catagen stages. In total, 565 differentially expressed unigenes (DEGs) were identified, 90 of which were upregulated and 475 of which were downregulated. In the BP category of GO enrichment, the DEGs were enriched in the processes related to HF development and differentiation, including the hair cycle regulation and processes, HF development, skin epidermis development, regulation of HF development, skin development, the Wnt signaling pathway, and the BMP signaling pathway. Through KEGG analysis it was found that DEGs were significantly enriched in pathways associated with HF development and growth. A total of 186 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) were screened (p < 0.05) in the HFs of FMD at the anagen stage vs. the catagen stage, 33 of which were upregulated and 153 of which were downregulated. Through DEmiRNA-mRNA association analysis, we found DEmiRNAs and target genes that mainly play regulatory roles in HF development and growth. The enrichment analysis of DEmiRNA target genes revealed similarities with the enrichment results of DEGs associated with HF development. Notably, both sets of genes were enriched in key pathways such as the Notch signaling pathway, melanogenesis, the cAMP signaling pathway, and cGMP-PKG. To validate our findings, we selected 11 DEGs and 11 DEmiRNAs for experimental verification using RT-qPCR. The results of the experimental validation were consistent with the RNA-Seq results.

Keywords: RT-qPCR; forest musk deer; hair follicle; miRNA–mRNA network; signal pathway analysis; transcriptome.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Length distribution of transcripts.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Heatmap of DEGs. (B) Venn diagram of DEGs. (C) Heatmap of DEmiRNAs. (D) Venn diagram of DEmiRNAs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) GO enrichment associated with BP terms of HF development and differentiation. (B) Analysis of GO networks related to HF growth and development. (C) KEGG analysis of the DEGs of HFs at the anagen stage and catagen stage. (D) Analysis of KEGG networks related to HF growth and development.
Figure 4
Figure 4
DEmiRNA and target gene interaction network related to HF growth and development of FMD in the Notch signaling pathway.
Figure 5
Figure 5
DEmiRNA and target gene interaction network related to HF growth and development of FMD in the melanogenesis pathway.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Verification of DEGs by RT−qPCR. (A) DEG expression in terms of FPKM as assessed by mRNA sequencing. (B) qRT−PCR analysis of 11 hub genes. Data represent the means ± SE. A * indicated significance; Two ** indicated extreme significance.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Verification of DEmiRNAs by RT−qPCR. (A) DEmiRNA expression in terms of TPM as assessed by RNA−seq. (B) qRT−PCR analysis of 11 hub miRNAs. Data represent the means ± SE. A * indicated significance; Two ** indicated extreme significance.
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