Expression analysis of differentially expressed miRNAs in male and female chicken embryos.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNA molecules that play key roles in the regulation of development processes of many tissues and organs at the post-transcriptional level. However, little is known about how they affect chicken gonadal development. We examined the expression of four miRNAs (miR-218, -200b, -196, and -206) in chicken embryonic gonads at embryonic days 3.5-6.5. Their target genes were predicted by miRDB, TargetScan and PicTar algorithms. The expression levels of these four miRNAs differed with sex to varying degrees; miR-200b was expressed at a significantly higher level in female gonads during the entire interval. The whole mount in situ hybridization result showed considerably higher expression of miR-200b in females than in males in E5.5 embryos. The miRNA target scanning results indicated several genes with functions in gonad development and gonad function. We conclude that miR-200b is involved in the regulation of gonad development and sexual differentiation of chicken embryos.
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
Y P
YP
Feng
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
J F
JF
Chen
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
P
P
Huang
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
X
X
Wang
Department of Bio-Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
J
J
Wang
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
X L
XL
Peng
Key Laboratory of Agricultural Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China fengyanping594@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
Y Z
YZ
Gong
D000818:Animals; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006066:Gonads / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D010053:Ovary / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*
D035683:MicroRNAs