College of Life Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.
Department of Chemistry, Northeast Electric Power University, Jilin, China.
Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 8;12(1):5926. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-09998-w.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a vital role in improving meat quality by binding to messenger RNAs (mRNAs). We performed an integrated analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiling between bulls and steers based on the differences in meat quality traits. Fat and fatty acids are the major phenotypic indices of meat quality traits to estimate between-group variance. In the present study, 90 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEGs) and 18 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified. Eighty-three potential DEG targets and 18 DEMs were used to structure a negative interaction network, and 75 matching target genes were shown in this network. Twenty-six target genes were designated as intersection genes, screened from 18 DEMs, and overlapped with the DEGs. Seventeen of these genes enriched to 19 terms involved in lipid metabolism. Subsequently, 13 DEGs and nine DEMs were validated using quantitative real-time PCR, and seven critical genes were selected to explore the influence of fat and fatty acids through hub genes and predict functional association. A dual-luciferase reporter and Western blot assays confirmed a predicted miRNA target (bta-miR-409a and PLIN5). These findings provide substantial evidence for molecular genetic controls and interaction among genes in cattle.
微小 RNA（miRNA）通过与信使 RNA（mRNA）结合在改善肉质方面发挥着重要作用。我们基于肉质性状的差异，对公牛和阉牛之间的 miRNA 和 mRNA 表达谱进行了综合分析。脂肪和脂肪酸是肉质性状的主要表型指标，用于估计组间方差。在本研究中，鉴定了 90 个差异表达的 mRNAs（DEGs）和 18 个差异表达的 miRNAs（DEMs）。使用 83 个潜在的 DEG 靶标和 18 个 DEMs 构建了一个负相互作用网络，该网络中显示了 75 个匹配的靶基因。从 18 个 DEMs 中筛选出 26 个靶基因作为交集基因，并与 DEGs 重叠。其中 17 个基因富集到 19 个涉及脂质代谢的术语中。随后，使用定量实时 PCR 验证了 13 个 DEGs 和 9 个 DEMs，选择了七个关键基因通过枢纽基因探索脂肪和脂肪酸的影响，并预测功能关联。双荧光素酶报告和 Western blot 检测证实了一个预测的 miRNA 靶标（bta-miR-409a 和 PLIN5）。这些发现为牛的分子遗传调控和基因间相互作用提供了充分的证据。
