Abstract
Deer antlers are the only mammalian appendages subject to an annual cycle of epimorphic regeneration. Within the rapid-growth stage, they display the fastest cartilage development in the animal kingdom. To identify microRNA (miRNA) profiling in red deer (Cervus elaphus) antler cartilage, we applied deep sequencing technology to a small RNA library constructed from pooled cartilage (three antlers from three individuals). We generated 9,520,645 mappable reads with a size distribution of between 15 and 30 nucleotides (miRNAs of 18 nucleotides were the most abundant group: 31 %). Bioinformatics data mining revealed 399 miRNAs in antler cartilage, of which 345 were highly conserved and expressed in 25 other mammals, including the cattle (Bos taurus) and in humans (Homo sapiens). The remaining 54 miRNAs we identified were novel and likely to be antler-cartilage specific, but were expressed at low levels. The identification of these known and newly identified miRNAs in antler cartilage significantly enhances our understanding of the miRNA profiling of regenerating antler cartilage. Further studies are necessary to better understand miRNAs-regulated antlerogenesis.
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