Transcriptome analysis reveals the long intergenic noncoding RNAs contributed to skeletal muscle differences between Yorkshire and Tibetan pig.

The difference between the skeletal muscle growth rates of Western and domestic breeds is remarkable, but the potential regulatory mechanism involved is still unclear. Numerous studies have pointed out that long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) plays a key role in skeletal muscle development. This study used published Yorkshire (LW) and Tibetan pig (TP) transcriptome data to explore the possible role of lincRNA in the difference in skeletal muscle development between the two breeds. 138 differentially expressed lincRNAs (DELs) were obtained between the two breeds, and their potential target genes (PTGs) were predicted. The results of GO and KEGG analysis revealed that PTGs are involved in multiple biological processes and pathways related to muscle development. The quantitative trait loci (QTLs) of DELs were predicted, and the results showed that most QTLs are related to muscle development. Finally, we constructed a co-expression network between muscle development related PTGs (MDRPTGs) and their corresponding DELs on the basis of their expression levels. The expression of DELs was significantly correlated with the corresponding MDRPTGs. Also, multiple MDRPTGs are involved in the key regulatory pathway of muscle fiber hypertrophy, which is the IGF-1-AKT-mTOR pathway. In summary, multiple lincRNAs that may cause differences in skeletal muscle development between the two breeds were identified, and their possible regulatory roles were explored. The findings of this study may provide a valuable reference for further research on the role of lincRNA in skeletal muscle development.