Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2013
College/Unit
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department/Program/Center
Animal and Nutritional Sciences
Abstract
Background
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding 21–25 nt RNA molecules that play an important role in regulating gene expression. Little is known about the expression profiles and functions of miRNAs in skin and their role in pigmentation. Alpacas have more than 22 natural coat colors, more than any other fiber producing species. To better understand the role of miRNAs in control of coat color we performed a comprehensive analysis of miRNA expression profiles in skin of white versus brown alpacas.
Results
Two small RNA libraries from white alpaca (WA) and brown alpaca (BA) skin were sequenced with the aid of Illumina sequencing technology. 272 and 267 conserved miRNAs were obtained from the WA and BA skin libraries, respectively. Of these conserved miRNAs, 35 and 13 were more abundant in WA and BA skin, respectively. The targets of these miRNAs were predicted and grouped based on Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway analysis. Many predicted target genes for these miRNAs are involved in the melanogenesis pathway controlling pigmentation. In addition to the conserved miRNAs, we also obtained 22 potentially novel miRNAs from the WA and BA skin libraries.
Conclusion
This study represents the first comprehensive survey of miRNAs expressed in skin of animals of different coat colors by deep sequencing analysis. We discovered a collection of miRNAs that are differentially expressed in WA and BA skin. The results suggest important potential functions of miRNAs in coat color regulation.
Digital Commons Citation
Tian, Xue; Jiang, Junbing; Fan, Ruiwen; Wang, Haidong; Meng, Xialong; He, Xiaoyan; He, Junping; Li, Hongquan; Geng, Jianjun; Yu, Xiuju; Song, Yunfei; Zhang, Danli; Yao, Jianbo; Smith, George W.; and Dong, Changsheng, "Identification and characterization of microRNAs in white and brown alpaca skin" (2013). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 2690.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/2690
Source Citation
Tian, X., Jiang, J., Fan, R. et al. Identification and characterization of microRNAs in white and brown alpaca skin. BMC Genomics 13, 555 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-13-555
Comments
© 2012 Tian et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.