Male-Biased gga-miR-2954 Regulates Myoblast Proliferation and Differentiation of Chicken Embryos by Targeting YY1

Analysis of microRNA Expression Profiles in Broiler Muscle Tissues by Feeding Different Levels of Guanidinoacetic Acid

The aim of this study was to explore the molecular mechanisms through which different levels of GAA affect chicken muscle development by influencing miRNA expression, to lay a theoretical foundation for the identification of key functional small RNAs related to poultry muscle development, and to provide new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of GAA on muscle development and meat quality in broilers. It provides a new theoretical basis for using GAA as a feed additive to improve feed performance. Small RNA sequencing technology was utilized to obtain the expression profiles of miRNA in the broiler pectoral muscle fed with different levels of GAA (0 g/kg, 1.2 g/kg and 3.6 g/kg). An analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs revealed 90 such miRNAs in the three combination comparisons, with gga-miR-130b-5p exhibiting significant differences across all three combinations. Furthermore, three of the differentially expressed miRNAs were performed by RT-qPCR verification, yielding results consistent with those obtained from small RNA sequencing. Target gene prediction, as well as the GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs, indicated their involvement in muscle cell differentiation and other processes, particularly those associated with the MAPK signaling pathway. This study has, thus, provided valuable insights and resources for the further exploration of the miRNA molecular mechanism underlying the influence of guanidine acetic acid on broiler muscle development. Combined with previous studies and small RNA sequencing, adding 1.2 g/kg GAA to the diet can better promote the muscle development of broilers.

miR-460b-5p promotes proliferation and differentiation of chicken myoblasts and targets RBM19 gene

The meat production of broilers is crucial to economic benefits of broiler industries, while the slaughter performance of broilers is directly determined by skeletal muscle development. Hence, the broiler breeding for growth traits shows a great importance. As a kind of small noncoding RNA, microRNA (miRNA) can regulate the expression of multiple genes and perform a wide range of regulation in organisms. Currently, more and more studies have confirmed that miRNAs are closely associated with skeletal muscle development of chickens. Based on our previous miR-seq analysis (accession number: PRJNA668199), miR-460b-5p was screened as one of the key miRNAs probably involved in the growth regulation of chickens. However, the regulatory effect of miR-460b-5p on the development of chicken skeletal muscles is still unclear. Therefore, miR-460b-5p was further used for functional validation at the cellular level in this study. The expression pattern of miR-460b-5p was investigated in proliferation and differentiation stages of chicken primary myoblasts. It was showed that the expression level of miR-460b-5p gradually decreased from the proliferation stage (GM 50%) to the lowest at 24 h of differentiation. As differentiation proceeded, miR-460b-5p expression increased significantly, reaching the highest and stabilizing at 72 h and 96 h of differentiation. Through mRNA quantitative analysis of proliferation marker genes, CCK-8 and Edu assays, miR-460b-5p was found to significantly facilitate the transition of myoblasts from G1 to S phase and promote chicken myoblast proliferation. mRNA and protein quantitative analysis of differentiation marker genes, as well as the indirect immunofluorescence results of myotubes, revealed that miR-460b-5p significantly stimulated myotube development and promote chicken myoblast differentiation. In addition, the target relationship was validated for miR-460b-5p according to the dual-luciferase reporter assay and mRNA quantitative analysis, which indicates that miR-460b-5p was able to regulate RBM19 expression by specifically binding to the 3' UTR of RBM19. In summary, miR-460b-5p has positive regulatory effects on the proliferation and differentiation of chicken myoblasts, and RBM19 is a target gene of miR-460b-5p.

The Function and Regulation Mechanism of Non-Coding RNAs in Muscle Development

Animal skeletal muscle growth is regulated by a complex molecular network including some non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). In this paper, we review the non-coding RNAs related to the growth and development of common animal skeletal muscles, aiming to provide a reference for the in-depth study of the role of ncRNAs in the development of animal skeletal muscles, and to provide new ideas for the improvement of animal production performance.

Transcriptome analysis of mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs in the skeletal muscle of Tibetan chickens at different developmental stages

Introduction: As a valuable genetic resource, native birds can contribute to the sustainable development of animal production. Tibetan chickens, known for their special flavor, are one of the important local poultry breeds in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. However, Tibetan chickens have a slow growth rate and poor carcass traits compared with broilers. Although most of the research on Tibetan chickens focused on their hypoxic adaptation, there were fewer studies related to skeletal muscle development. Methods: Here, we performed the transcriptional sequencing of leg muscles from Tibetan chicken embryos at E (embryonic)10, E14, and E18. Results: In total, 1,600, 4,610, and 2,166 DE (differentially expressed) mRNAs, 210, 573, and 234 DE lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs), and 52, 137, and 33 DE miRNAs (microRNAs) were detected between E10 and E14, E10 and E18, and E14 and E18, respectively. Functional prediction showed several DE mRNAs and the target mRNAs of DE lncRNAs and DE miRNAs were significantly enriched in sarcomere organization, actin cytoskeleton organization, myofibril, muscle fiber development, and other terms and pathways related to muscle growth and development. Finally, a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA (competing endogenous RNA) network associated with muscle growth and development, which contained 6 DE lncRNAs, 13 DE miRNAs, and 50 DE mRNAs, was constructed based on the screened DE RNAs by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment. These DE RNAs may play a critical regulatory role in the skeletal muscle development of chickens. Discussion: The results provide a genomic resource for mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs potentially involved in the skeletal muscle development of chickens, which lay the foundation for further studies of the molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle growth and development in Tibetan chickens.

MicroRNA expression profile of chicken cecum in different stages during Histomonas meleagridis infection

Background

Histomonas meleagridis is an anaerobic, intercellular parasite, which infects gallinaceous birds such as turkeys and chickens. In recent years, the reemergence of Histomoniasis has caused serious economic losses as drugs to treat the disease have been banned. At present, H. meleagridis research focuses on virulence, gene expression analysis, and the innate immunity of the host. However, there are no studies on the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) associated with the host inflammatory and immune responses induced by H. meleagridis. In this research, high-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the expression profile of cecum miRNA at 10 and 15 days post-infection (DPI) in chickens infected with Chinese JSYZ-F strain H. meleagridis.

Results

Compared with the controls, 94 and 127 DEMs were found in cecum of infected chickens at 10 DPI (CE vs CC) and 15 DPI (CEH vs CCH), respectively, of which 60 DEMs were shared at two-time points. Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis of the target genes of DEMs indicated that 881 and 1027 GO terms were significantly enriched at 10 and 15 DPI, respectively. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG, www.kegg.jp/kegg/kegg1.html) pathway enrichment analysis of the target genes of DEMs demonstrated that 5 and 3 KEGG pathways were significantly enriched at 10 and 15 DPI, respectively. For previous uses, the Kanehisa laboratory have happily provided permission. The integrated analysis of miRNA–gene network revealed that the DEMs played important roles in the host inflammatory and immune responses to H. meleagridis infection by dynamically regulating expression levels of inflammation and immune-related cytokines.

Conclusion

This article not only suggested that host miRNA expression was dynamically altered by H. meleagridis and host but also revealed differences in the regulation of T cell involved in host responses to different times H. meleagridis infection.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-022-03316-2.

Regulation of Non-Coding RNA in the Growth and Development of Skeletal Muscle in Domestic Chickens

Chicken is the most widely consumed meat product worldwide and is a high-quality source of protein for humans. The skeletal muscle, which accounts for the majority of chicken products and contains the most valuable components, is tightly correlated to meat product yield and quality. In domestic chickens, skeletal muscle growth is regulated by a complex network of molecules that includes some non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). As a regulator of muscle growth and development, ncRNAs play a significant function in the development of skeletal muscle in domestic chickens. Recent advances in sequencing technology have contributed to the identification and characterization of more ncRNAs (mainly microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs), and circular RNAs (CircRNAs)) involved in the development of domestic chicken skeletal muscle, where they are widely involved in proliferation, differentiation, fusion, and apoptosis of myoblasts and satellite cells, and the specification of muscle fiber type. In this review, we summarize the ncRNAs involved in the skeletal muscle growth and development of domestic chickens and discuss the potential limitations and challenges. It will provide a theoretical foundation for future comprehensive studies on ncRNA participation in the regulation of skeletal muscle growth and development in domestic chickens.

Comparative Analysis of miRNA Expression Profiles in Skeletal Muscle of Bian Chickens at Different Embryonic Ages

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are widely involved in the growth and development of skeletal muscle through the negative regulation of target genes. In order to screen out the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) associated with skeletal muscle development of Bian chickens at different embryonic ages, we used the leg muscles of fast-growing and slow-growing Bian chickens at the 14th and 20th embryonic ages (F14, F20, S14 and S20) for RNA-seq. A total of 836 known miRNAs were identified, and 121 novel miRNAs were predicted. In the F14 vs. F20 comparison group, 127 DEMs were screened, targeting a total of 2871 genes, with 61 miRNAs significantly upregulated and 66 miRNAs significantly downregulated. In the S14 vs. S20 comparison group, 131 DEMs were screened, targeting a total of 3236 genes, with 60 miRNAs significantly upregulated and 71 miRNAs significantly downregulated. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the predicted target genes were significantly enriched in 706 GO terms and 6 KEGG pathways in the F14 vs. F20 group and 677 GO terms and 5 KEGG pathways in the S14 vs. S20 group. According to the interaction network analysis, we screened five coexpressed DEMs (gga-miR-146a-3p, gga-miR-2954, gga-miR-34a-5p, gga-miR-1625-5p and gga-miR-18b-3p) with the highest connectivity degree with predicted target genes between the two comparison groups, and five hub genes (HSPA5, PKM2, Notch1, Notch2 and RBPJ) related to muscle development were obtained as well. Subsequently, we further identified nine DEMs (gga-let-7g-3p, gga-miR-490-3p, gga-miR-6660-3p, gga-miR-12223-5p, novel-miR-327, gga-miR-18a-5p, gga-miR-18b-5p, gga-miR-34a-5p and gga-miR-1677-3p) with a targeting relationship to the hub genes, suggesting that they may play important roles in the muscle development of Bian chickens. This study reveals the miRNA differences in skeletal muscle development between 14- and 20-day embryos of Bian chickens from fast- and slow-growing groups and provides a miRNA database for further studies on the molecular mechanisms of the skeletal muscle development in Bian chickens.