Genome-wide identification and characterisation of long non-coding RNAs in two Chinese cattle breeds

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been essentially involved in all kinds of important biological processes, such as cell differentiation and development. In this study, we comprehensively profiled genome-wide lncRNAs of bovine skeletal muscle in two Chinese cattle breeds using RNA-seq approach. The longissimus dorsi samples were collected from three Charolais (CH) and three Tongjiang (TJ) adult cattle, respectively. Approximately 80 million reads were obtained per library, and by which we assembled 31,009 unique transcripts. We successfully identified a total of 4155 different lncRNAs in six muscle samples, consisting of 3204 intronic lncRNAs, 737 intergenic lncRNAs, 113 sense lncRNAs and 101 antisense lncRNAs. Among them, 32 lncRNAs were differentially expressed (Fold Change >1.0, FDR The first study to compare specialised beef cattle breed with Chinese local beef cattle breed on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA).The 4155 different lncRNAs in beef cattle genome were identified to complement the list of bovine lncRNAs.The 1146 protein-coding genes were found maybe in cis-regulatory relationships with lncRNAs to understand the molecular mechanism underpinning muscle development in cattle. The first study to compare specialised beef cattle breed with Chinese local beef cattle breed on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). The 4155 different lncRNAs in beef cattle genome were identified to complement the list of bovine lncRNAs. The 1146 protein-coding genes were found maybe in cis-regulatory relationships with lncRNAs to understand the molecular mechanism underpinning muscle development in cattle.