title: A comparative profile of the microRNA transcriptome in immature and mature porcine testes using Solexa deep sequencing.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding regulatory RNAs that play key roles in many diverse biological processes such as spermatogenesis. However, no study has been performed on the miRNA transcriptome of developing porcine testes. Here, we employed Solexa deep sequencing technology to extend the repertoire of porcine testis miRNAs and extensively compare the expression patterns of sexually immature and mature porcine testes. Solexa sequencing of two small RNA libraries derived from immature (30 days) and mature (180 days) pig testis samples yielded over 25 million high-quality reads. Overall, the two developmental stages had significantly different small RNA compositions. A custom data analysis pipeline identified 398 known and/or homologous conserved porcine miRNAs, 15 novel pig-specific miRNAs and 56 novel candidate miRNAs. We further observed multiple mature miRNA variants and identified a new bidirectional transcribed miRNA locus, ssc-mir-181a. A total of 122 miRNAs were differentially expressed in the immature and mature testes, and 10 were validated using quantitative RT-PCR. Furthermore, GO and KEGG pathway analyses of the predicted miRNA targets further illustrate the likely roles for these differentially expressed miRNAs in spermatogenesis. This study is the first comparative profile of the miRNA transcriptome in immature and mature porcine testes using a deep sequencing approach, and it provides a useful resource for future studies on the role of miRNAs in spermatogenesis and male infertility treatment.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Embryo Engineering, Jilin University, China.
authors.forename: Chuanjiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.forename: Boxing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Shuling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Runjun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Boyang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Jilun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Zhengyan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhihui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D013091:Spermatogenesis; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013737:Testis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs