Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (6): 202-212. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195563

Special Issue: Animal husbandry

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

Transcriptomic Data Reveal Sheep Intramuscular Fat Deposition-Associated LncRNAs and Their Associated Genes and Pathways

WANG Dingxiang, LI Chenglong, GUO Chenhao, FENG Dengzhen, KANG Xiaolong   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology,Ningxia University,Yinchuan 750021,China
  • Received:2024-11-04 Published:2025-12-31

Abstract:

Intramuscular fat deposition,as a key factor affecting meat quality(e.g.tenderness,flavor,and juiciness),is closely related to the regulation of lipogenesis and lipid metabolism by long non-coding RNA(lncRNA).Based on the previous finding that the intramuscular fat content of Tan sheep was significantly higher than that of Dorper sheep and Small-tailed Han sheep,the dorsal longest muscle of these three sheep breeds was used as the target,and differentially expressed mRNAs(DE mRNAs)and lncRNAs(DE lncRNAs)and their related pathways were screened by transcriptome sequencing,with the aim of revealing molecular mechanism of high intramuscular fat deposition in Tan sheep.The results showed:836 DE mRNAs and 832 DE lncRNAs were identified in the Small-tailed Han sheep vs.Tan sheep group;578 DE mRNAs and 700 DE lncRNAs were screened in the Dorper sheep vs.Tan sheep group.The intersection of the two groups fielded a total of 226 DE mRNAs and 308 DE lncRNAs.Target gene prediction for the 308 DE lncRNAs identified 1 475 potential targets,including 687 co_expression(co-expressed)target genes and 788 co_localization(co-localized)target genes.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of DE mRNAs revealed fat deposition-related pathways such as regulation of actin cytoskeleton and prolactin signaling pathway,with genes like FGF14 and FGF9 were reported to participate in animal fat metabolism.Enrichment analysis of co-expressed and co-localized target genes identified fat metabolism-related pathways,including the cAMP signaling pathway,prolactin signaling pathway,and insulin signaling pathway.Further functional analysis screened key genes associated with fat metabolism(CREBBP,ATP1B3,PPP1R3C, and PIK3R1),which may play crucial regulatory roles in ovine intramuscular fat deposition.The qRT-PCR results of 6 randomly selected DE mRNAs and 6 randomly selected DE lncRNAs were consistent with transcriptome sequencing data.

Key words: Tan sheep, Intramuscular fat deposition, Transcriptome, lncRNA

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Cite this article

WANG Dingxiang, LI Chenglong, GUO Chenhao, FENG Dengzhen, KANG Xiaolong. Transcriptomic Data Reveal Sheep Intramuscular Fat Deposition-Associated LncRNAs and Their Associated Genes and Pathways[J]. Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica, 2025, 40(6): 202-212. doi: 10.7668/hbnxb.20195563.

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