title: Myomaker, Regulated by MYOD, MYOG and miR-140-3p, Promotes Chicken Myoblast Fusion.
abstract: The fusion of myoblasts is an important step during skeletal muscle differentiation. A recent study in mice found that a transmembrane protein called Myomaker, which is specifically expressed in muscle, is critical for myoblast fusion. However, the cellular mechanism of its roles and the regulatory mechanism of its expression remain unclear. Chicken not only plays an important role in meat production but is also an ideal model organism for muscle development research. Here, we report that Myomaker is also essential for chicken myoblast fusion. Forced expression of Myomaker in chicken primary myoblasts promotes myoblast fusion, whereas knockdown of Myomaker by siRNA inhibits myoblast fusion. MYOD and MYOG, which belong to the family of myogenic regulatory factors, can bind to a conserved E-box located proximal to the Myomaker transcription start site and induce Myomaker transcription. Additionally, miR-140-3p can inhibit Myomaker expression and myoblast fusion, at least in part, by binding to the 3' UTR of Myomaker in vitro. These findings confirm the essential roles of Myomaker in avian myoblast fusion and show that MYOD, MYOG and miR-140-3p can regulate Myomaker expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. lw729@stu.scau.edu.cn.|Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. lw729@stu.scau.edu.cn.|Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. lw729@stu.scau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. erxin.li@cix.csi.cuny.edu.|Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. erxin.li@cix.csi.cuny.edu.|Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. erxin.li@cix.csi.cuny.edu.
authors.forename: Erxin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. nqinghua@scau.edu.cn.|Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. nqinghua@scau.edu.cn.|Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. nqinghua@scau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qinghua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. xqzhang@scau.edu.cn.|Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. xqzhang@scau.edu.cn.|Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China. xqzhang@scau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiquan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002459:Cell Fusion; D002645:Chickens; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D024721:E-Box Elements; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000235:genetics; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D017570:MyoD Protein / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D018008:Myogenin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D035683:MicroRNAs; D017570:MyoD Protein; D018008:Myogenin; D012333:RNA, Messenger
keywords: MYOD; MYOG; Myomaker; chicken; miR-140-3p; myoblast fusion