Identification of microRNA-Associated-ceRNA Networks Regulating Crop Milk Production in Pigeon (Columba livia).

Pingzhuang Ge,Adamu Mani Isa,Lei Shi,Yunlei Li,Yuanmei Wang,Hui Ma,Yanyan Sun,Jingwei Yuan,Aixin Ni,Yunhe Zong,Jilan Chen,Hailai Hagos,Panlin Wang,Linlin Jiang,Shixiong Bian

doi:10.3390/genes12010039

Pingzhuang Ge, Adamu Mani Isa + Show 13 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12010039

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Abstract

Pigeon belongs to altrices. Squab cannot forage independently. Nutrition can only be obtained from crop milk secreted by male and female pigeon. miRNA could regulate many biological events. However, the roles of miRNA and ceRNA in regulating crop milk production are still unknown. In this study, we investigated the miRNAs expression profile of female pigeon crop, explored the potential key genes, and found the regulatory mechanisms of crop milk production. A total of 71 miRNAs were identified differentially expressed significantly. Meanwhile, miR-20b-5p, miR-146b-5p, miR-21-5p, and miR-26b-5p were found to be the key miRNAs regulating lactation. Target genes of these miRNAs participated mainly in cell development; protein and lipid synthesis; and ion signaling processes, such as cell-cell adhesion, epithelial cell morphogenesis, calcium signaling pathway, protein digestion, and absorption. In the ceRNA network, miR-193-5p was located in the central position, and miR-193-5p/CREBRF/LOC110355588, miR-460b-5p/GRHL2/MSTRG.132954, and miR-193-5p/PIK3CD/LOC110355588 regulatory axes were believed to affect lactation. Collectively, our findings enriched the miRNA expression profile of pigeon and provided novel insights into the microRNA-associated-ceRNA networks regulating crop milk production in pigeon.

Highlights

Centuries ago, bird fanciers and naturalists had known that crops of parental pigeons could produce materials that nourished their springs [1]
Small RNAs, a total of 42.18%, 46.76%, 49.43%, 46.29%, 50.17%, 57.37%, 54.57%, 49.61%, 50.83%, and 47.74% reads from C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 were mapped to the pigeon reference genome (Table 1, Figure 1a), respectively
Lipids were extremely important nutrients in crop milk, and we identified many genes that played an important role in the extension, synthesis and metabolism of fatty acids

Summary

Introduction

Bird fanciers and naturalists had known that crops of parental pigeons could produce materials that nourished their springs [1]. Bernard (1859) first named it as crop milk and found that it consisted of clumps of epithelial cells shedding from the mucosal layer. As the only nutrition source of squab [2], crop milk has high nutritional value at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd weeks after hatching [3,4,5]. The lipid content of crop milk consisted mainly of triglycerides, along with phospholipids, cholesterol, free fatty acids, cholesterol esters, and diglycerides [6]. Young pigeons fed with crop milk showed remarkable growth rates, reaching 8-, 18- and 22-fold of the hatching weight. Feeding with granules including crop milk could improve the growth of domestic chickens and weaning rats significantly [7,8,9,10,11].

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