Identification of Key Functional Genes and LncRNAs Influencing Muscle Growth and Development in Leizhou Black Goats

Xiuhui Zhao; Junning Ye; Xunkai Lin; Huiwen Xue; Xian Zou; Guangbin Liu; Ming Deng; Baoli Sun; Yongqing Guo; Dewu Liu; Yaokun Li

doi:10.3390/genes14040881

Identification of Key Functional Genes and LncRNAs Influencing Muscle Growth and Development in Leizhou Black Goats

Genes (Basel). 2023 Apr 8;14(4):881. doi: 10.3390/genes14040881.

Authors

Xiuhui Zhao^{1

2

3}, Junning Ye^{1

2

3}, Xunkai Lin¹, Huiwen Xue¹, Xian Zou², Guangbin Liu^{1

3}, Ming Deng^{1

3}, Baoli Sun^{1

3}, Yongqing Guo^{1

3}, Dewu Liu^{1

3}, Yaokun Li^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
³ National Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Livestock and Poultry, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.

Abstract

Meat yield and quality are important economic traits of livestock. Herein, longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles of Leizhou black goats aged 0, 3, and 6 months were used to identify differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) by high-throughput RNA sequencing. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used to analyze differentially expressed genes. Expression levels of regulator of calcineurin 1 (RCAN1) and olfactory receptor 2AP1 (OR2AP1) were significantly different in LD muscles of goats aged 0, 3, and 6 months, indicating potentially important roles in postnatal muscle development. Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were mainly enriched in biological processes and pathways related to cellular energy metabolism, consistent with previous studies. Three lncRNAs, TCONS_00074191, TCONS_00074190, and TCONS_00078361, may play a cis-acting role with methyltransferase-like 11B (METTL11B) genes and participate in the methylation of goat muscle proteins. Some of the identified genes may provide valuable resources for future studies on postnatal meat development in goat muscles.

Keywords: Leizhou black goat; lncRNA; longissimus dorsi; mRNA; meat quality; meat yield; protein methylation; skeletal muscle.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Phenomena*
Goats / metabolism
Muscle Development / genetics
Muscles / metabolism
RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
RNA, Long Noncoding* / metabolism
RNA, Messenger / genetics

Substances

RNA, Long Noncoding
RNA, Messenger

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Modern Agricultural Industrial Technology System of Guangdong Province (grant number 2021KJ127).