Gansu Key Laboratory of Herbivorous Animal Biotechnology, College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Genes (Basel). 2023 Jan 27;14(2):331. doi: 10.3390/genes14020331.
Circular RNA (circRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA generated from back-splicing the reactions of linear RNA. It plays an important role in various cellular and biological processes. However, there are few studies about the regulatory effect of circRNAs on cashmere fiber traits in cashmere goats. In this study, the expression profiles of circRNAs in skin tissue were compared between Liaoning cashmere (LC) goats and Ziwuling black (ZB) goats, with a significant difference in cashmere fiber yield, cashmere fiber diameter, and cashmere fiber color, using RNA-seq. A total of 11,613 circRNAs were expressed in the caprine skin tissue, and their type, chromosomal distribution, and length distribution were characterized. A total of 115 up-regulated circRNAs and 146 down-regulated circRNAs in LC goats were screened compared to ZB goats. The authenticity of 10 differentially expressed circRNAs was validated by detecting their expression levels and the head-to-tail splice junction using RT-PCR and DNA sequencing, respectively. The parent genes of differentially expressed circRNA were mainly enriched in some Gene Ontology (GO) terms and pathways related to cashmere fiber traits, such as the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which is involved in the regulation of cell promotion, stem cell proliferation, Wnt signaling pathway regulation, epithelial morphogenesis, MAPK signaling pathway, and cell adhesion molecules pathway. Eight differentially expressed circRNAs were further selected to construct a circRNA-miRNA network, and some miRNAs that were previously reported as related to fiber traits were found in the network. This study provides a deep understanding of the roles of circRNAs in the regulation of cashmere fiber traits in cashmere goats and the involvement of differential splicing in phenotypic expression according to breed and region.
环状 RNA（circRNA）是一类通过线性 RNA 反向剪接反应产生的非编码 RNA，它在各种细胞和生物过程中发挥着重要作用。然而，关于 circRNA 对绒山羊产绒性状的调控作用的研究较少。本研究利用 RNA-seq 技术比较了辽宁绒山羊（LC）和籽乌陵黑山羊（ZB）皮肤组织中 circRNA 的表达谱，这两个品种在产绒量、绒纤维直径和绒纤维颜色等产绒性状上存在显著差异。在山羊皮肤组织中共表达了 11613 个 circRNA，对其类型、染色体分布和长度分布进行了特征分析。与 ZB 山羊相比，LC 山羊中有 115 个上调的 circRNA 和 146 个下调的 circRNA。通过 RT-PCR 和 DNA 测序分别检测其表达水平和头尾拼接，验证了 10 个差异表达 circRNA 的真实性。差异表达 circRNA 的亲本基因主要富集在与绒纤维性状相关的一些基因本体论（GO）术语和途径中，如经典 Wnt 信号通路，该通路参与细胞促进、干细胞增殖、Wnt 信号通路调节、上皮形态发生、MAPK 信号通路和细胞黏附分子途径的调节。进一步选择 8 个差异表达的 circRNA 构建 circRNA-miRNA 网络，在网络中发现了一些先前报道与纤维性状相关的 miRNA。本研究深入了解了 circRNA 在绒山羊产绒性状调控中的作用，以及根据品种和地区差异剪接在表型表达中的参与。
