title: Genome-wide analysis of long non-coding RNAs at early stage of skin pigmentation in goats (Capra hircus).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play roles in almost all biological processes; however, their function and profile in skin development and pigmentation is less understood. In addition, because lncRNAs are species-specific, their function in goats has not been established.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We systematically identified lncRNAs in 100-day-old fetal skin by deep RNA-sequencing using the Youzhou dark goat (dark skin) and Yudong white goat (white skin) as a model of skin pigmentation. A total of 841,895,634 clean reads were obtained from six libraries (samples). We identified 1336 specific lncRNAs in fetal skin that belonged to three subtypes, including 999 intergenic lncRNAs (lincRNAs), 218 anti-sense lncRNAs, and 119 intronic lncRNAs. Our results demonstrated significant differences in gene architecture and expression among the three lncRNA subtypes, particularly in terms of density and position bias of transpose elements near the transcription start site. We also investigated the impact of lncRNAs on its target genes in cis and trans, indicating that these lncRNAs have a strict tissue specificity and functional conservation during skin development and pigmentation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study provides a resource for lncRNA studies in diseases involved in pigmentation and skin development. It expands our knowledge about lncRNA biology as well as contributes to the annotation of the goat genome.
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. rhxe@163.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. rhxe@163.com.
authors.forename: Hangxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. wanggaofs20031216@163.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. wanggaofs20031216@163.com.
authors.forename: Gaofu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. ktintin@163.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. jiangjing19@163.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. jiangjing19@163.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. 1305197268@qq.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. 1305197268@qq.com.
authors.forename: Liangjia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. linianfu123@126.com.|Youyang Animal Husbandry Bureau, Chongqing, 409800, China. linianfu123@126.com.
authors.forename: Nianfu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. jinhongzhao@126.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. jinhongzhao@126.com.
authors.forename: Jinhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. sxyecho@163.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. sxyecho@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaoyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Chongqing Academy of Animal Sciences, Chongqing, 402460, China. cqzp@163.com.|Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Goats, Chongqing, 402460, China. cqzp@163.com.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D006041:Goats / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D011247:Pregnancy; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding