Su Rui, Fu Shaoyin, Zhang Yanjun, Wang Ruijun, Zhou Yanhong, Li Jinquan, Zhang Wenguang
Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, 010018, Inner Mongolia, China,
Mol Biol Rep. 2015 May;42(5):989-95. doi: 10.1007/s11033-014-3835-9. Epub 2014 Nov 22.
MicroRNA (miRNA) is a large class of non-coding RNA which usually acts a fine-tuned regulation in repressing gene expression on transcriptional and post-transcriptional level during ontogenetic development, metabolism, and occurrence of disease. Due to the lateness of goat genome investigation, registered goat microRNAs are little known and the function of it is poorly understood. In this study, we identified 5 novel miRNAs express in cashmere goat skin and longissimus dorsi using comparative genomic approach combined with expression profile analysis. Further qPCR and sequencing validation demonstrated that the novel miRNAs we identified expressed in goat skin and longissimus dorsi, three of them with the highest expression in February and two in October, indicating these novel microRNAs were involved in growth and cessation of goat hair production. Subsequently, potential target genes were explored via base-pairing with complementary sequences miRNA/mRNA interaction searching. WDR12 and CSNK1A1 involved in Notch/Wnt signal transduction pathway were finally identified. Collectively, the approach of comparative genomics combining expression profile analysis is a powerful tool to identify novel miRNA in goat and the 5 identified novel miRNAs(chi-miR-2284n, chi-miR-421*, chi-miR-421, chi-miR-1839 and chi-miR-374; Accession number: JQ002550-JQ002554) play a essential role in goat hair production of cashmere goat, both in entering growth and cessation phase. This study is also a meaningful complement to the present goat miRNA database for further understanding function of miRNAs in regulation of goat cashmere production.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一大类非编码RNA，在个体发育、新陈代谢和疾病发生过程中，通常在转录和转录后水平上对基因表达进行微调调控。由于山羊基因组研究起步较晚，已注册的山羊微小RNA鲜为人知，其功能也了解甚少。在本研究中，我们采用比较基因组学方法结合表达谱分析，鉴定了5种在绒山羊皮肤和背最长肌中表达的新型微小RNA。进一步的qPCR和测序验证表明，我们鉴定的新型微小RNA在山羊皮肤和背最长肌中表达，其中3种在2月表达量最高，2种在10月表达量最高，表明这些新型微小RNA参与了山羊毛发的生长和休止。随后，通过与互补序列进行miRNA/mRNA相互作用搜索的碱基配对来探索潜在的靶基因。最终确定了参与Notch/Wnt信号转导途径的WDR12和CSNK1A1。总的来说，比较基因组学结合表达谱分析的方法是鉴定山羊新型微小RNA的有力工具，所鉴定的5种新型微小RNA（chi-miR-2284n、chi-miR-421*、chi-miR-421、chi-miR-1839和chi-miR-374；登录号：JQ002550-JQ002554）在绒山羊毛发生产的进入生长和休止阶段中都起着重要作用。本研究也是对现有山羊微小RNA数据库的有意义补充，有助于进一步了解微小RNA在调控山羊绒生产中的功能。
