Expression of circRNA in bovine placenta

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have attracted much attention in recent years for their functions and value as physiological and pathological biomarkers. However, there is no detailed analysis of circRNAs in bovine placenta, and there is no database to refer to. In this study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of circRNA expression in bovine placental tissues at 60 days of gestation using circRNA-seq. As a result, we identified the presence of 13958 circRNAs by circRNA-seq. In addition, four of the circRNAs were identified by RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing, and the microRNA-binding sequences in the circRNAs and their downstream pathway genes were also examined based on the results of in silico analysis. These results indicate that circRNAs are specifically expressed in the placenta and that these circRNAs contain microRNA-binding sequences, which is of great interest to us because of the significance of circRNAs in the placenta.