Long Non-Coding RNAs Differentially Expressed in Swine Fetuses.

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Developmental Biology
• RNA Biology

Background:

• Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are crucial regulators in biological processes.
• The Y chromosome's role in mammalian sex determination is established, but lncRNA functions are underexplored, especially in early development.
• Understanding lncRNAs in fetal development is vital for reproductive biology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and characterize lncRNAs in swine fetuses.
• To investigate differential lncRNA expression between male and female swine fetuses at 35 days of gestation.
• To explore the potential regulatory roles of Y-chromosome-located lncRNAs.

Main Methods:

• RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of 10 swine fetuses (male and female).
• Bioinformatic analysis including data quality control (Trimmomatic), alignment (HISAT2), transcript assembly (StringTie), and differential expression analysis (limma package in R).

Main Results:

• Identification and characterization of 871 potentially novel lncRNAs.
• Discovery of eight upregulated lncRNAs in male fetuses compared to females.
• Seven of these upregulated lncRNAs were located on the Y chromosome, with one being potentially novel.
• Identified lncRNAs are implicated in gene expression regulation and chromosomal structure modulation.

Conclusions:

• This study provides a comprehensive catalog of lncRNAs in early swine fetal development.
• The identified Y-chromosome-specific lncRNAs highlight their potential significance in male sex determination and development.
• These findings lay the groundwork for future research into lncRNA functions during porcine fetal development.