Analysis and comparison of long non-coding RNAs expressed in the ovaries of Meishan and Yorkshire pigs

LncRNAs comprise a vast majority of the RNAs transcribed from non-coding regions of mammalian genomes. Recently, lncRNAs have emerged as key regulators of a wide range of biological processes. In this study, we identified lncRNAs expressed in swine ovary tissue from Yorkshire and Meishan pigs. We obtained 3827 lncRNAs expressed from 4973 transcripts in swine ovary tissue, of which 510 were ovary specific, 192 were differentially expressed between Yorkshire and Meishan pigs and 38 were both ovary specific and differentially expressed. Furthermore, we randomly selected several differentially expressed and ovary-specific lncRNAs for verification by qRT-PCR and RT-PCR respectively. We also predicted the functions of the lncRNAs by analysing their nearest neighbouring protein-coding genes. Together, our results identify a series of ovary-associated lncRNAs for further experimental investigation of the functions of these genes in ovary development or for selection of candidate genes for breeding.