Analysis of m6A methylation in skin tissues of different sex Liaoning cashmere goats

Abstract

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most frequent internal modification of mRNA and lncRNA in eukaryotes. We used two high-throughput sequencing method, m6A-seq and RNA-seq to identify pivotal m6A-modified genes in cashmere fineness and fiber growth. 8062 m6A peaks were detected by m6A-seq, including 2157 upregulated and 6445 downregulated. Furthermore, by comparing m6A-modified genes of the male Liaoning Cashmere Goat (M-LCG) and female Liaoning Cashmere Goat (F-LCG) skin tissues, we get 862 differentially expressed m6A-modified genes. To identify differently expressed m6A genes associated with cashmere fineness, 11 genes were selected for validation using real time fluorescent quantitative PCR in M-LCG and F-LCG. This study provides an acadamic basis on the molecular regulation mechanism of m6A modification in cashmere growth process.