Differentially Expressed miRNA-Gene Targets Related to Intramuscular Fat in Musculus Longissimus Dorsi of Charolais × Holstein F2-Crossbred Bulls

Abstract

Intramuscular fat (IMF) is a meat quality indicator associated with taste and juiciness. IMF deposition, influenced by genetic and non-genetic factors, occurs through a transcriptionally coordinated process of adipogenesis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are transcriptional regulators of vital biological processes, including lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. However, in bovines, limited data on miRNA profiling and association with divergent intramuscular fat content, regulated exclusively by genetic parameters, have been reported. Here, a microarray experiment was performed to identify and characterize the miRNA expression pattern in the Musculus longissimus dorsi of F2-cross (Charolais × German Holstein) bulls with high and low IMF. A total of 38 differentially expressed miRNAs (DE miRNAs), including 33 upregulated and 5 downregulated (corrected p-value ≤ 0.05, FC ≥ ±1.2), were reported. Among DE miRNAs, the upregulated miRNAs miR-105a/b, miR-695, miR-1193, miR-1284, miR-1287-5p, miR-3128, miR-3178, miR-3910, miR-4443, miR-4445 and miR-4745, and the downregulated miRNAs miR-877-5p, miR-4487 and miR-4706 were identified as novel fat deposition regulators. DE miRNAs were further analyzed, along with previously identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the same samples and predicted target genes, using multiple bioinformatic approaches, including target prediction tools and co-expression networks, as well as Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment. We identified DE miRNAs and their gene targets associated with bovine intramuscular adipogenesis, and we provide a basis for further functional investigations.

Prenatal Skeletal Muscle Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Novel MicroRNA-mRNA Networks Associated with Intrauterine Growth Restriction in Pigs

“…MiRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that are approximately 22 nucleotides long [ 28 ]. A single miRNA can regulate the expression of multiple genes through post-transcriptional repression and epigenetic regulation, making miRNAs the major regulators of gene expression [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Several studies have shown the role of miRNAs and their target genes in skeletal muscle growth and development at different prenatal and postnatal stages across different breeds of pigs [ 23 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ].…”

Dietary phosphorus and calcium in feed affects miRNA profiles and their mRNA targets in jejunum of two strains of laying hens

“…MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are highly conserved short non-coding RNAs which regulate gene expression by degradation or translational inhibition of their target mRNAs 27 . MiRNAs regulate several biological and cellular processes in a variety of tissues across different animal species 28 – 30 . Various networks of miRNAs were identified in intestinal epithelial cells, which indicates the potential role of miRNAs in regulating nutrient metabolism and intestinal secretions 31 .…”

MicroRNA-100 Reduced Fetal Bovine Muscle Satellite Cell Myogenesis and Augmented Intramuscular Lipid Deposition by Modulating IGF1R

“…This, together with our previous results from mRNA/miRNA profiling in bovine muscle with different IMF content motivated our current study. In our previous microarray screen, we found upregulation of miR-100 and downregulation of IGF1R in bovine LD muscles with high IMF content compared to low IMF content [49,50]. Whether this negative correlation exists in primary bovine muscle cells or if miR-100 plays a causal role in muscle cell proliferation and differentiation and lipid accumulation by targeting IGF1R remains unclear.…”