Expression signatures of microRNAs and their targeted pathways in the adipose tissue of chickens

As the chick transitions from embryonic to post-hatching life, its metabolism must quickly undergo a dramatic switch in its major energy source. The chick embryo derives most of its energy from the yolk, a lipid-rich/carbohydrate-poor source. Upon hatching the chick must then be able to utilize a lipid-poor/carbohydrate-rich source (feed) as its main form of energy. In this project we used NGS to generate miRNome and transcriptome profiles of the adipose tissue during the transition from late embryonic to early post-hatch development. Specifically, these profiles were produced at embryonic stages E18 and E20 and post-hatch stages D0, D1, and D3.