Zhou Guangxian, Wang Xiaolong, Yuan Chao, Kang Danju, Xu Xiaochun, Zhou Jiping, Geng Rongqing, Yang Yuxin, Yang Zhaoxia, Chen Yulin
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China; Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences of CAAS, Lanzhou, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:1857580. doi: 10.1155/2017/1857580. Epub 2017 Feb 15.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, noncoding RNAs that regulate various biological processes including adipogenesis and fat metabolism. Here, we adopted a deep sequencing approach to determine the identity and abundance of miRNAs involved in fat deposition in adipose tissues from fat-tailed (Kazakhstan sheep, KS) and thin-tailed (Tibetan sheep, TS) sheep breeds. By comparing HiSeq data of these two breeds, 539 miRNAs were shared in both breeds, whereas 179 and 97 miRNAs were uniquely expressed in KS and TS, respectively. We also identified 35 miRNAs that are considered to be putative novel miRNAs. The integration of miRNA-mRNA analysis revealed that miRNA-associated targets were mainly involved in the gene ontology (GO) biological processes concerning cellular process and metabolic process, and miRNAs play critical roles in fat deposition through their ability to regulate fundamental pathways. These pathways included the MAPK signaling pathway, FoxO and Wnt signaling pathway, and focal adhesion. Taken together, our results define miRNA expression signatures that may contribute to fat deposition and lipid metabolism in sheep.
微小RNA（miRNA）是一类内源性非编码RNA，可调控包括脂肪生成和脂肪代谢在内的多种生物学过程。在此，我们采用深度测序方法来确定参与脂尾（哈萨克羊，KS）和瘦尾（藏羊，TS）绵羊品种脂肪组织中脂肪沉积的miRNA的种类和丰度。通过比较这两个品种的HiSeq数据，发现两个品种共有539种miRNA，而分别有179种和97种miRNA在KS和TS中特异表达。我们还鉴定出35种被认为是假定的新miRNA。miRNA与mRNA分析的整合显示，与miRNA相关的靶标主要参与基因本体（GO）中有关细胞过程和代谢过程的生物学过程，并且miRNA通过其调控基本途径的能力在脂肪沉积中发挥关键作用。这些途径包括丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK）信号通路、叉头框蛋白O（FoxO）和Wnt信号通路以及粘着斑。综上所述，我们的结果确定了可能有助于绵羊脂肪沉积和脂质代谢的miRNA表达特征。
