College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, P.R. China.
College of Biological Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, P.R. China.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 15;16(4):e0249288. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249288. eCollection 2021.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play important roles in adipogenesis. However, studies on circRNA expression profiles associated with the development of abdominal adipose tissue are lacking in chickens. In this study, 12 cDNA libraries were constructed from the abdominal adipose tissue of Chinese domestic Gushi chickens at 6, 14, 22, and 30 weeks. A total of 1,766 circRNAs were identified by Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencing. These circRNAs were primarily distributed on chr1 through chr10 and sex chromosomes, and 84.95% of the circRNAs were from gene exons. Bioinformatic analysis showed that each circRNA has 35 miRNA binding sites on average, and 62.71% have internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements. Meanwhile, these circRNAs were primarily concentrated in TPM < 0.1 and TPM > 60, and their numbers accounted for 18.90% and 80.51%, respectively, exhibiting specific expression patterns in chicken abdominal adipose tissue. In addition, 275 differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were identified by comparison analysis. Functional enrichment analysis showed that the parental genes of DE circRNAs were primarily involved in biological processes and pathways related to lipid metabolism, such as regulation of fat cell differentiation, fatty acid homeostasis, and triglyceride homeostasis, as well as fatty acid biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and glycerolipid metabolism. Furthermore, ceRNA regulatory networks related to abdominal adipose development were constructed. The results of this study indicated that circRNAs can regulate lipid metabolism, adipocyte proliferation and differentiation, and cell junctions during abdominal adipose tissue development in chickens through complex ceRNA networks between circRNAs, miRNAs, genes, and pathways. The results of this study may help to expand the number of known circRNAs in abdominal adipose tissue and provide a valuable resource for further research on the function of circRNAs in chicken abdominal adipose tissue.
环形 RNA（circRNAs）在脂肪生成中发挥重要作用。然而，关于与鸡腹部脂肪组织发育相关的 circRNA 表达谱的研究尚缺乏。在这项研究中，我们从中国本地鸡古氏鸡的腹部脂肪组织中构建了 12 个 cDNA 文库，分别在 6、14、22 和 30 周时进行研究。通过 Illumina HiSeq 2500 测序共鉴定出 1766 个 circRNAs。这些 circRNAs 主要分布在 chr1 到 chr10 和性染色体上，84.95%的 circRNAs 来自基因外显子。生物信息学分析表明，每个 circRNA 平均有 35 个 miRNA 结合位点，62.71%具有内部核糖体进入位点（IRES）元件。同时，这些 circRNAs 主要集中在 TPM < 0.1 和 TPM > 60，其数量分别占 18.90%和 80.51%，在鸡腹部脂肪组织中表现出特定的表达模式。此外，通过比较分析鉴定出 275 个差异表达（DE）circRNAs。功能富集分析表明，DE circRNAs 的亲本基因主要参与与脂质代谢相关的生物学过程和途径，如脂肪细胞分化、脂肪酸稳态和甘油三酯稳态的调节，以及脂肪酸生物合成、脂肪酸代谢和甘油脂质代谢。此外，构建了与腹部脂肪发育相关的 ceRNA 调控网络。本研究结果表明，circRNAs 通过 circRNAs、miRNAs、基因和途径之间的复杂 ceRNA 网络，在鸡腹部脂肪组织发育过程中调节脂质代谢、脂肪细胞增殖和分化以及细胞连接。本研究的结果可能有助于增加已知的腹部脂肪组织中的 circRNAs 数量，并为进一步研究 circRNAs 在鸡腹部脂肪组织中的功能提供有价值的资源。
