Identification of the Differential Expression Profile of miRNAs in Longissimus dorsi Muscle of Dazu Black Goat.

MicroRNA (miRNA) was verified to display an important molecular regulatory role in the development of skeletal muscle. In this study, we identified the differentially expressed miRNAs from longissimus dorsi muscle of Dazu black goat at different stages (75 days embryonic stage [ET]) and 1 day after birth [DC]) to understand the regulatory role of miRNAs in the development of skeletal muscle. This work is expected to provide a theoretical basis for goat breeding in meat production. Results revealed a total of 218,161,800 clean tags from all the libraries; 546 significant differentially (p < 0.05) expressed miRNAs (DE_miRNAs) were identified, including 321 up-regulated and 225 down-regulated DE_miRNAs. Moreover, GO and KEGG analyses of the genes targeted by the DE_miRNAs revealed 59 and 345 significantly enriched GO terms and pathways associated with muscle development, respectively, such as the PI3K/Akt, Wnt. A total of 21 miRNAs from 546 DE_miRNAs were selected to estimate the agreement rate between miRNA-seq by RT-qPCR, and the results showed that the expressed pattern was completely unified from both. In brief, a series of miRNAs related to muscle development was identified in this study. This work provides valuable information to further understand the molecular regulatory mechanism of muscle development in goats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]