ACTA VETERINARIA ET ZOOTECHNICA SINICA ›› 2019, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (7): 1367-1379.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2019.07.006

• ANIMAL GENETICS AND BREEDING • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Melatonin on let-7 Family and Its Target Genes in Skin of Inner Mongolian Cashmere Goats

WANG Jianmeng1,2, FU Shaoyin3,4, LI Chun5, BAI Xue1,2, LIU Bin2,6, JI Xiaoyang1,2, LIU Yongbin3*, ZHANG Wenguang1,2,4*   

  1. 1. Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China;
    2. Inner Mongolia Engineering Research Center of Genomic Big Data for Agriculture, Hohhot 010018, China;
    3. Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot 010031, China;
    4. Inner Mongolia ATCG Institute of Bioinformatics, Hohhot 010020, China;
    5. College of Animal Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities, Tongliao 028000, China;
    6. Inner Mongolia BioNew Technology Co. Ltd., Hohhot 010018, China
  • Received:2018-11-26 Online:2019-07-23 Published:2019-07-23
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Abstract: The study aimed to explore the effects of melatonin on the periodic expression of let-7 family and its target genes in skin of Inner Mongolia Cashmere goat. In this study, six Inner Mongolia Hanshan Cashmere goats were selected and divided equally and randomly into 2 groups, melatonin implantation group and non-implantation group. Taking the skin tissue of the goats as experimental material in every months of the year. The expression changes of 11 members in let-7 family were quantified by reverse transcription-real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in the skin tissue. The expression changes of the target genes of let-7 family were analyzed using the RNA-Seq technique. The results showed that:1) During the whole hair follicle cycle, melatonin up-regulated the expression of let-7b, let-7e and let-7a-3p, down-regulated the expression of let-7f, let-7g, let-7c, let-7a-5p, let-7d and miR-98. 2) In April, melatonin up-regulated the expression of "let-7g, let-7i and miR-98", down-regulated the expression of target genes such as PTGS2 and PLCG1. It down-regulated the expression of "let-7a-5p, let-7b and let-7c", up-regulated the expression of target genes such as TGIF2 and RBL1. 3) In June, melatonin down-regulated the expression of "let-7g, let-7i and miR-98", up-regulated the expression of target genes such as PTGS2, PLCG1 and SRC; It up-regulated the expression of "let-7a-5p, let-7b and let-7c", down-regulated the expression of target genes such as GDF5, TGIF2 and RBL1. 4) The target genes of let-7 family were mainly involved in VEGF, TGF-β, Oxytocin and NF-kappa B signaling pathways, and played an important role in cell processes, hormone regulation and regulation of transcription factors. In summary, MT may affect the expression of the corresponding target genes by changing the expression level of members in the let-7 family. It plays an important role in the periodic growth of skin hair follicles. These results provided a theoretical basis for further revealing the molecular mechanism of melatonin mediating miRNAs to affect cashmere growth.

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