Abstract
The study presents the miRNA profiles of two Indian sheep populations with divergent carcass and muscle traits. The RNA sequencing of longissimus thoracis muscles from the two populations revealed a total of 400 known miRNAs. Myomirs or miRNAs specific to skeletal muscles identified in our data included oar-miR-1, oar-miR-133b, oar-miR-206 and oar-miR-486. Comparison of the two populations led to identification of 100 differentially expressed miRNAs (p < 0.05). A total of 45 miRNAs exhibited a log2 fold change of ≥ ( ±) 3.0. Gene Ontology analysis revealed cell proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, apoptosis, immune response and cell differentiation as the most significant functions of the differentially expressed miRNAs. The differential expression of some miRNAs was validated by qRT-PCR analysis. Enriched pathways included metabolism of proteins and lipids, PI3K-Akt, EGFR and cellular response to stress. The microRNA-gene interaction network revealed miR-21, miR-155, miR-143, miR-221 and miR-23a as the nodal miRNAs, with multiple targets. MicroRNA-21 formed the focal point of the network with 42 interactions. The hub miRNAs identified in our study form putative regulatory candidates for future research on meat quality traits in Indian sheep. Our results provide insight into the biological pathways and regulatory molecules implicated in muscling traits of sheep.
Highlights
ID mir-125a mir-125b-1 mir-133b mir-199b mir-1–1 mir-1–2 mir-21 mir-221 mir-222 mir-23a mir-23b mir-27b mir-34a mir-494 mir-206 mir-486
MicroRNAs are one such class of regulatory molecules that post-transcriptionally affect the expression of genes
Knowledge of miRNAs in skeletal muscles of various livestock species provides the possibility of identifying key regulators of muscle traits that can be used as b iomarkers[21,31]
Summary
ID mir-125a mir-125b-1 mir-133b mir-199b mir-1–1 mir-1–2 mir-21 mir-221 mir-222 mir-23a mir-23b mir-27b mir-34a mir-494 mir-206 mir-486. Reported between Bandur and local sheep[24]. The mRNA of skeletal muscles of Bandur and local sheep have been profiled[24], no information is available on the differential expression of miRNAs regulating their expression. The study was taken up with the aim to elucidate the regulatory miRNAs in Bandur and local sheep populations with diverse carcass and muscle traits
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