title: Deep sequencing analysis of microRNAs in bovine sperm.
abstract: microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that participates in the regulation of many physiological pathways, but a role for spermatozoon-delivered miRNAs in fertilization and embryonic development remains controversial. A library of miRNAs in bovine sperm was constructed using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology, along with the predication and the pathway analysis of target genes. miRNAs in mammalian spermatozoon were systematically investigated, and a protocol for RNA isolation from the cauda region of an epididymal biopsy was established. Unique sequences that were 18-26 nucleotides in length were mapped to specific precursors in miRBase 20.0 using BLAST. A total of 951 known miRNAs and 8 novel, highly expressed miRNA candidates were identified. The search for endogenous sperm miRNAs will contribute to a preliminary database for functional and molecular mechanistic studies in embryonic development and sperm epigenetic programming.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Animal Biotechnology of Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xiangguo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Wuju
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Rongjun
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xupeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Jianmin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Yongsheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D019295:Computational Biology; D015723:Gene Library; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs