Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (2): 191-200. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195101

Special Issue: Animal husbandry Hot Article

• Animal Husbandry·Fisheries·Veterinarian • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Identification and Functional Analysis of circRNA Associated with Tail Fat Deposition in Sheep

NIU Ruilai, ZHANG Yue, WEI Yingshi, YANG Yang, QING Yu, CHENG Shuru , ZHU Caiye   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology,Gansu Agricultural University,Lanzhou 730070,China
  • Received:2024-11-15 Published:2025-04-28

Abstract:

The tail type of sheep is a complex trait formed by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors.circRNA is closely related to lipogenesis.To investigate the effect of circular RNA(circRNA)on the tail fat deposition of sheep,transcriptome sequencing and differential expression analysis of sheep tail fat were performed.Candidate circRNA associated with sheep tail fat were screened,and the regulatory network diagram of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA associated with sheep tail fat deposition was constructed,the selected circRNA were located,and their functions were verified.The results showed that a total of 679 differentially expressed circRNA were detected in the transcripts of adipose tissue of two different tail types of sheep,of which 422 were up-regulated and 257 down-regulated.Moreover,GO and KEGG functional enrichment analysis was performed on differentially circRNA target genes,which involved many biological development processes such as DNA metabolism,anatomical structure development,catabolic process,autophagy,carbohydrate absorption process,cell proliferation and lipid metabolism related to fat deposition.Target gene enrichment was involved in cell growth and apoptosis,cell motility,transport and catabolism,signal transduction,transcription and translation,amino acid anabolism and other functions,suggesting that these circRNA may participate in the deposition process of sheep tail fat through the above pathways.The selected differential circRNA_0018 was localized by fluorescence in situ hybridization and verified in the precursor adipocytes.The results showed that circRNA_0018 was a true and stable cytoplasmic ring molecule,and functional verification of circRNA_0018 showed that it could promote adipocyte differentiation.circRNA_0018 may be involved in the process of fat deposition and lipid metabolism in sheep.

Key words: Sheep, Gene expression, Functional verification, Tail lipid deposition, circRNA

Cite this article

NIU Ruilai, ZHANG Yue, WEI Yingshi, YANG Yang, QING Yu, CHENG Shuru, ZHU Caiye. Identification and Functional Analysis of circRNA Associated with Tail Fat Deposition in Sheep[J]. Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica, 2025, 40(2): 191-200. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195101.

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