1Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husandry Science, Lasa, 850009, China
2Sichuan Academy of Grassland Sciences, 611731, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
3Nagqu grassland station, Naqu, 852000, China
4College of Animal Science and Technology, Southwest University, 400715, Chongqing, China
Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Science, Lasa, 850009, China
*Corresponding author's e-mail: eguangxin@swu.edu.cn
Online published on 18 July, 2018.
In this study, we used high-throughput technology to provide the first transcriptome dataset for differentially expressed miRNA in mixed pools of dermis tissue from black-and white-coated yak to research the possible molecular mechanisms of yak coat pigmentation. In this study, 92, 636, 002 and 95, 917, 842 clear reads were generated through Illumina paired-end sequencing. A total of 78 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified, including 59 upregulated and 19 downregulated miRNAs in the mixed pools of white-coated yak compared with the mixed pools of black-coated yak. In addition, 3634 genes were predicted as putative targets of DEMs. These DEGs related to 59 GO categories and were enriched in 216 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, including melanogenesis and the Wnt signaling pathway. The results of the current study indicated that the coat color of the yak involved the transcriptional regulation process of miRNAs. These results provide helpful data to understand the molecular mechanisms of yak coat pigmentation.
MicroRNA, RNA-seq, Target gene, Coat color, Yak
