Identification of microRNAs in wool follicles during anagen, catagen, and telogen phases in Tibetan sheep.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Wool quality is one of the most important economic traits in sheep. The wool fiber is derived from specialized skin cells that are referred to as wool follicles. To understand the roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in wool fiber growth, we detected the expression patterns of miRNAs in wool follicles at the anagen, catagen, and telogen stages from Tibetan sheep through Solexa sequencing.

Results

A total of 244 mature miRNAs were identified. Of these, only five miRNAs are listed in the database of sheep miRNAs (miRBase Database V19), and the other 239 miRNAs have not been previously described in this species. Further analyses indicated that 204 miRNAs are evolutionarily conserved among mammal species, whereas 35 of the identified miRNAs were first found specifically in she

SUBMITTER: Liu G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3804049 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature