Project description:Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in diverse biological processes. However, the landscape of lncRNAs is largely unclear in Sus scrofa. Here we performed stranded RNA-seq on total RNA libraries from over 100 samples of Sus scrofa tissues. We identified 10,813 lncRNAs in Sus scrofa, of which 9,075 are novel. 57% of these lncRNAs were conserved in both human and mouse. These conserved lncRNAs tend to be more tissue-specific than pig-specific lncRNAs, and enriched in reproducible organs (i.e. testis and ovary). We characterized a group of lncRNAs potentially involved in the skeletal muscle development. One such lncRNA, a homolog of maternally expressed gene 3 (MEG3), was specifically expressed in the skeletal muscle at early developmental stage. And its expression pattern is conserved in pig and mouse. By over-expressing and knocking down MEG3 in mouse myoblast cell lines, we demonstrated its novel function as a myoblast proliferation suppressor.
