Identification and characterization of microRNAs involved in growth of blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) by Solexa sequencing

The present study provides the first large-scale characterization of miRNAs in M. amblycephala and miRNA profile of M. amblycephala with different growth performance. The discovery of miRNA resource from this study is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the miRNAs roles playing in regulating the growth biological processes in fish and the study of miRNA function and phenotype-associated miRNA identification in fish. Overall design: To investigate the functions of miRNAs associated with growth of M. amblycephala, we adopted the Solexa sequencing technology to sequence two small RNA libraries prepared from four growth related tissues (brain, pituitary, liver and muscle) of M. amblycephala using individuals with relatively high and low growth rates.