In recent years, the meat and dairy value of buffaloes has become a major concern in buffalo breeding, and the improvement of buffalo beef quality is key to protecting buffalo germplasm resources and solving the problem of beef supply. MiRNAs play a significant role in regulating muscle development. However, the precise mechanism by which they regulate the development of buffalo skeletal muscles remains largely unexplored. In this study, we examined miRNA expression profiles in buffalo myoblasts during the proliferation and differentiation stages. A total of 177 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified, out of which 88 were up-regulated and 89 down-regulated. We focused on a novel miRNA, named bbu-miR-493-5p, that was significantly differentially expressed during the proliferation and differentiation of buffalo myoblasts and highly expressed in muscle tissues. The RNA-FISH results showed that bbu-miR-493-5p was primarily located in the cytoplasm to encourage buffalo myoblasts' proliferation and differentiation. In conclusion, our study lays the groundwork for future research into the regulatory role of miRNAs in the growth of buffalo muscle.
Keywords: bbu-miR-493-5p; buffalo; miRNA; muscle development; myoblast.