Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (10): 4925-4937.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2025.10.014

• Animal Genetics and Breeding • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The Effect of METTL14 on Myogenic Differentiation of Ovine Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells Based on Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis

HE Siqi1,2(), CHEN Qian2, JIANG Lin2, MA Yuehui2, ZHOU Shenghua1,*(), ZHAO Qianjun2,*()   

  1. 1. College of Animal Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
    2. Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
  • Received:2025-03-13 Online:2025-10-23 Published:2025-11-01
  • Contact: ZHOU Shenghua, ZHAO Qianjun E-mail:hesiqiovo@163.com;ZSH991109@163.com;zhaoqianjun@caas.cn

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to explore the molecular mechanism underlying the effect of methyltransferase like 14 (METTL14) on the myogenic differentiation of sheep skeletal muscle satellite cells(SMSCs) and to provide a theoretical basis for analyzing the molecular mechanism of METTL14 regulating the differentiation of SMSCs. SMSCs were isolated and identified. The overexpression plasmid of METTL14 and the control plasmid were transfected into SMSCs, and the overexpression efficiency and the function of METTL14 affecting SMSCs differentiation were detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot. RNA-seq was performed for METTL14-overexpressed SMSCs(OE-14) and control SMSCs(OE-NC). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under the conditions of P < 0.05 and log2|Fold Change| > 1, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network interaction analysis for DEGs was conducted. Overexpression of METTL14 markedly elevated the expression of METTL14, as well as the mRNA and protein levels of myogenic differentiation-related genes (MyHC, MyoG) in ovine SMSCs, thereby demonstrating successful METTL14 overexpression and the enhancement of SMSCs differentiation mediated by METTL14. A total of 259 differentially expressed genes were identified between the two groups. Compared with the OE-NC group, the OE-14 group had 45 up-regulated genes and 214 down-regulated genes. Differential genes were mainly enriched in nuclear pathways, Rap1 signaling pathways, etc. PPI protein network interaction analysis identified 8 hub genes (Degree≥15), including MX1, RSAD2, IFIH1, DDX58, HERC5, ISG15, MX2, and IRF7. This study indicated that METTL14 can promote the differentiation of ovine SMSCs through influencing genes and signaling pathways related to cellular processes and muscle development.

Key words: METTL14, transcriptome sequencing, skeletal muscle satellite cells, sheep, cell differentiation

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