Whole-transcriptome analysis reveals the characteristics of intramuscular fat circRNA expression and its associated network in grazing yaks of different months of age under cold stress

Abstract

Background

The aim of this study was to screen circRNAs related to fat deposition in yaks, and to identify candidate circRNAs for yak meat quality improvement. Six male yaks with insignificant differences in body weights were selected as test subjects, and 3 yaks (G18_IMF) were randomly slaughtered at the beginning of the experiment, while the remaining 3 yaks were naturally grazed until 24 months of age (G24_IMF), and then slaughtered at the end of the experiment, and the intramuscular fat was collected from the dorsal muscle. At the end of the experiment, the yaks were slaughtered and the intramuscular fat from the back was collected for whole transcriptome sequencing.

Results

The results showed that 352 differential circRNAs, 86 differential miRNAs and 3981 differential mRNAs were found. miRNAs and mRNAs network regulation maps were successfully constructed through gene expression correlation analysis and target gene prediction.

Conclusions

Taking the intersection of the predicted circRNA target genes with the differential miRNAs for intramuscular fat in yaks of different months of age, we obtained two candidate ceRNA pairs that might be related to intramuscular fat deposition in yaks, and found that bta-let-7i might be related to fat deposition in yaks and might be regulated by X_85287959_85291068, and that X_85287959_85291068 could be a candidate circRNA to enhance the quality of yak meat. The results may provide a reference for further investigation of the regulatory network of intramuscular fat deposition in yak.

How to cite: Liu Y, Sun Y, Han Y, et al. Whole-transcriptome analysis reveals the characteristics of intramuscular fat circRNA expression and its associated network in grazing yaks of different months of age under cold stress. Electron J Biotechnol 2025;74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2024.10.004.