ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2019, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (5): 957-971.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2019.05.007

• ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Differential Expression Profile and Bioinformatics Analysis of miRNAs in Yak Muscle Tissue during Development

JI Hui1, WANG Hui1, CHAI Zhixin1, WANG Jikun1, WANG Jiabo1, LUO Xiaolin2, JI Qiumei3, XIN Jinwei3, ZHONG Jincheng1*   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Animal Genetic Resources Protection and Utilization of the Ministry of Education, Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China;
    2. Sichuan Academy of Grassland Sciences, Chengdu 611731, China;
    3. State Key Laboratory of Hulless Barley and Yak Germplasm Resources and Genetic Improvement, Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences, Lhasa 850009, China
  • Received:2018-11-05 Online:2019-05-23 Published:2019-05-23

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to explore the the miRNA expression profile in muscle tissues at different ages of yak and analyze their biological characteristics to explore their regulation patterns during yak muscle development. Four small RNA libraries of muscle tissues during 0.5-year-old, 2.5-year-old, 4.5-year-old and 7.5-year-old of yak were constructed and sequenced using Solexa technology. The sequencing results were verified and analyzed by RT-qPCR and bioinformatics methods. The expression profile of each miRNA in 4 age groups were obtained. Fifty eight miRNAs were differentially expressed in muscle tissues during the 7.5-year-old of yak compared with other 3 age groups, of which 53 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated and 5 were significantly up-regulated in 7.5-year-old muscle tissue. GO enrichment and KEGG analysis were performed using R language, 58 miRNAs might be involved in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of yak muscle cells through PI3K-Akt,MAPK, Ras and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton signaling pathways. PI3K-Akt, MAPK and Ras signaling pathways jointly targeted 53 target genes, which indicated that the 3 signaling pathways were related to each other. Furthermore, the RT-qPCR results showed that the expression tendency of 7 of the 8 randomly selected miRNAs were consistent with the sequencing results. The results indicate that yak muscle development may be regulated by multiple miRNAs and involve in multiple signaling pathways, which may help to construct the regulatory network of miRNAs in muscle tissue, which lays a theoretical foundation for further study the miRNA regulating the mammalian muscle development.

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