Dataset Information

Expansion of ruminant-specific microRNAs shapes target gene expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Understanding how species-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to species-specific phenotypes is a central topic in biology. This study aimed to elucidate the role of ruminant-specific miRNAs in shaping mRNA expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.

Results

We analyzed miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes generated by Illumina sequencing from whole blood samples of cattle and a closely related non-ruminant species, pig. We found evidence of expansion of cattle-specific miRNAs by analyzing miRNA conservation among 57 vertebrate species. The emergence of cattle-specific miRNAs was accompanied by accelerated sequence evolution at their target sites. Further, the target genes of cattle-specific miRNAs show markedly reduced expression compared to their pig and human orthologues. We found that target genes with conserved or non-conserved target sites of cattle-specific miRNAs exhibit reduced expression. One of the significantly enriched KEGG pathway terms for the target genes of the cattle-specific miRNAs is the insulin signalling pathway, raising the possibility that some of these miRNAs may modulate insulin resistance in ruminants.

Conclusions

We provide evidence of rapid miRNA-mediated regulatory evolution in the ruminant lineage. Cattle-specific miRNAs play an important role in shaping gene expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species, by influencing the expression of targets genes through both conserved and cattle-specific target sites.

SUBMITTER: Bao H

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3847189 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Expansion of ruminant-specific microRNAs shapes target gene expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.

Bao Hua H Kommadath Arun A Sun Xu X Meng Yan Y Arantes Adriano S AS Plastow Graham S GS Guan Le Luo LL Stothard Paul P

BMC genomics 20130910

<h4>Background</h4>Understanding how species-specific microRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to species-specific phenotypes is a central topic in biology. This study aimed to elucidate the role of ruminant-specific miRNAs in shaping mRNA expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.<h4>Results</h4>We analyzed miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes generated by Illumina sequencing from whole blood samples of cattle and a closely related non-ruminant species, pig. We found evidence of expansion o ...[more]

PMID: 24020371

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Project description:BackgroundGoats (Capra hircus), one of the first domesticated species, are economically important for milk and meat production, and their broad geographical distribution reflects their successful adaptation to diverse environmental conditions. Despite the relevance of this species, the genetic research on the goat traits is limited compared to other domestic species. Thanks to the latest goat reference genomic sequence (ARS1), which is considered to be one of the most continuous assemblies in livestock, we deduced the genomic structure of the T cell receptor beta (TRB) and gamma (TRG) loci in this ruminant species.ResultsOur analyses revealed that although the organization of the goat TRB locus is broadly similar to that of the other artiodactyl species, with three in-tandem D-J-C clusters located at the 3' end, a complex and extensive series of duplications have occurred in the V genes at the 5' end, leading to a marked expansion in the number of the TRBV genes. This phenomenon appears to be a feature of the ruminant lineage since similar gene expansions have also occurred in sheep and cattle. Likewise, the general organization of the goat TRG genes is typical of ruminant species studied so far, with two paralogous TRG loci, TRG1 and TRG2, located in two distinct and distant positions on the same chromosome as result of a split in the ancestral locus. Each TRG locus consists of reiterated V-J-J-C cassettes, with the goat TRG2 containing an additional cassette relative to the corresponding sheep and cattle loci.ConclusionsTaken together, these findings demonstrate that strong evolutionary pressures in the ruminant lineage have selected for the development of enlarged sets of TRB and TRG genes that contribute to a diverse T cell receptor repertoire. However, differences observed among the goat, sheep and cattle TRB and TRG genes indicate that distinct evolutionary histories, with independent expansions and/or contractions, have also affected each ruminant species.

Dataset Information

Expansion of ruminant-specific microRNAs shapes target gene expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.

Background

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Expansion of ruminant-specific microRNAs shapes target gene expression divergence between ruminant and non-ruminant species.

Similar Datasets

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