Wy Suyeon, Kim Heesun, Gu Minji, Kim Junyoung, Kim Hyeonji, Ahn Jiyeong, Kwon Daehong, Park Woncheoul, Kim Jaebum
Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea.
Animal Genetics & Breeding Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan-si, 31000, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 1;15(1):20788. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-09005-y.
Minipigs are widely used as animal models in biomedical research because they have distinctive advantages, including small body size. However, the regulatory roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in shaping their distinct characteristics remain unexplored. In this study, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of five tissues (heart, kidney, liver, lung, and spleen) from three breeds of minipig (ET-type, L-type, and Bama minipigs) and two breeds of pig (Duroc and Landrace). We identified 5,288 lncRNAs and found that their expression patterns distinguished breeds more prominently than protein-coding genes, suggesting the existence of different evolutionary constraints between them. Based on differential expression analyses, we identified tissue-common lncRNAs (tcDELs) that exhibited consistent expression differences between minipigs and pigs, as well as tissue-specific lncRNAs (tsDELs) with unique expression patterns in individual minipig tissues. Expression correlation analysis and functional enrichment of associated protein-coding genes revealed that these lncRNAs are involved in a wide range of biological processes. Notably, tcDELs were linked to pathways related to organ size and gene regulation across tissues, while tsDELs were associated with physiological functions specific to each tissue. These findings demonstrate that lncRNAs may contribute to both tissue-common and tissue-specific traits in minipigs, reinforcing their utility as animal models.
小型猪因其具有包括体型小在内的独特优势，在生物医学研究中被广泛用作动物模型。然而，长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）在塑造其独特特征中的调控作用仍未得到探索。在本研究中，我们对三种小型猪（ET型、L型和巴马小型猪）以及两种猪（杜洛克猪和长白猪）的五个组织（心脏、肾脏、肝脏、肺和脾脏）进行了比较转录组分析。我们鉴定出5288个lncRNA，并发现它们的表达模式比蛋白质编码基因更能显著地区分不同品种，这表明它们之间存在不同的进化限制。基于差异表达分析，我们鉴定出在小型猪和猪之间表现出一致表达差异的组织共有的lncRNA（tcDEL），以及在单个小型猪组织中具有独特表达模式的组织特异性lncRNA（tsDEL）。表达相关性分析和相关蛋白质编码基因的功能富集表明，这些lncRNA参与了广泛的生物学过程。值得注意的是，tcDEL与跨组织的器官大小和基因调控相关的途径有关，而tsDEL与每个组织特有的生理功能有关。这些发现表明，lncRNA可能对小型猪的组织共有的和组织特异性的特征都有贡献，增强了它们作为动物模型的实用性。
