In this review, we highlight information on microRNA (miRNA) identification and functional characterization in the beef for muscle and carcass composition traits, with an emphasis on Qinchuan beef cattle, and discuss the current challenges and future directions for the use of miRNA as a biomarker in cattle for breeding programs to improve meat quality and carcass traits. MicroRNAs are endogenous and non-coding RNA that have the function of making post-transcriptional modifications during the process of preadipocyte differentiation in mammals. Many studies claim that diverse miRNAs have an impact on adipogenesis. Furthermore, their target genes are associated with every phase of adipocyte differentiation. It has been confirmed that, during adipogenesis, several miRNAs are differentially expressed, including miR-204, miR-224, and miR-33. The development of mammalian skeletal muscle is sequentially controlled by somite commitment into progenitor cells, followed by their fusion and migration, the proliferation of myoblasts, and final modification into fast- and slow-twitch muscle fibers. It has been reported that miRNA in the bovine MEG3-DIO3 locus has a regulatory function for myoblast differentiation. Likewise, miR-224 has been associated with controlling the differentiation of bovine adipocytes by targeting lipoprotein lipase. Through the posttranscriptional downregulation of KLF6, miR-148a-3p disrupts the proliferation of bovine myoblasts and stimulates apoptosis while the miR-23a~27a~24-2 cluster represses adipogenesis. Additional to influences on muscle and fat, bta-mir-182, bta-mir-183, and bta-mir-338 represent regulators of proteolysis in muscle, which influences meat tenderness.
Keywords: carcass; cattle; development; meat quality; microRNA.